July 25, 2023 • 32 mins
In this episode, we are joined by restaurateur extraordinaire Spike Mendelsohn! Plus we dish on the hottest headlines, see what's crackin' in the world of vegan eggs, 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.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Food news, celebrities, and more from the world's number one
plant based food and lifestyle magazine. It's the veg News
Podcast and here's your host, Jasmine Singer.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
Happy Tuesday, everyone, I'm Jasmine Singer, your host for this
new installment of the veg News Podcast, brought to you
by mud Water, the coffee alternative made with adaptogenic mushrooms.
This week we will hear from Spike Mendelssohn, the chef
behind vegan Burger chain plant Burger that's spelled p LNT
in case you were wondering. We'll also check in with
(00:46):
New Products editor Sarah McLachlan, answer questions from the veg
News Hotline, and get an update on all the apps
at veg News HQ from publisher Colleen Holland. But first,
it's time for the Headlines of the week. Each week
we'll be sharing our favorite stories.
Speaker 4 (01:02):
These are the ones.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
We can't stop talking about here at fadge News. Our
first story today, Leonardo DiCaprio is on a mission to
save the world, and he's empowering future generations to do
the same. The Oscar winning actor recently funded a climate
education program at UCLA's Lab School, where students will get
(01:26):
the hands on learning about sustainable gardening and healthy eating. Additionally,
the new Leonardo DiCaprio Scholarship Fund will help nurture diversity
at the Lab School, where forty percent of families rely
on financial aid. Here's to the next generation of diverse
climate leaders. Second story today, maybe Burger King needs to
(01:47):
take a page from Leo's playbook. The fast food chain
recently unveiled a new menu item across Thailand, the Real Cheeseburger.
The meatless creation is made with twenty slices of dairy
cheese nestled between two buns, and so comes at a
high cost to the environment. The nonprofit Water Education states
(02:09):
fifty six gallons of water are required to produce a
one ounce slice of dairy cheese, which means Burger Kings
Real Cheeseburger requires a wopping one thousand, one hundred and
twenty gallons of water per sandwich. Yikes, and our third
story today. A new study has found that an antioxidant
(02:32):
in green tea could help prevent and treat uterine fibroids.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University treated lab grown human fibroid
cells with an extract of epigallo catachins galate. Try and
say that five times fast, a powerful antioxidant compound found
in green tea also known as e g CG, which
(02:55):
is all I will ever say in the future when
I refer to it. The result else revealed a significant
reduction in fibrinectin protein levels and disruption of pathways associated
with fibroid tumor cell growth. This means that EGCG supplements
could be an easily accessible and natural way to relieve
(03:16):
symptoms of slow fibroid growth. Our fourth story today, do
meat labels create confusion about animal welfare? Experts say yes
with common labels like organic, grass fed and humanely raised.
Associate Professor of Animal Sciences at Purdue University, Marisa Erasmus
(03:37):
says it's important for consumers to educate themselves on what
these labels actually mean. In fact, some of these claims
are approved for use before supporting documentation is even provided. Luckily,
the USDA is looking to tighten restrictions on meat labels
to protect consumers from false and misleading claims. And our
(03:59):
fifth story today, it is Barbie's world and we're all
living in it. Now that the summer blockbuster has officially
hit theaters, why not visit the Malibu Barbie Cafe. Vegan
options abound at this pop up cafe, featuring a menu
created by master chef Alum Becky Brown Pataia, Chia pudding,
(04:21):
pink beet, hummus, call offlower bowls, and burgers can all
be ordered vegan. A partnership between Mattel and event organizer
Bucket Listers, the pop up cafe will run until mid
September in Chicago and New York City. And I'm seeing
Barbie tomorrow. I cannot wait.
Speaker 4 (04:38):
No spoilers.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
That's all for our top stories this week. All of
our headlines of the week will be linked in the
show notes at VegNews dot com slash podcast. This week's
guest is a celebrity chef, restauranteur, and food activist, Spike Mendelssohn.
It is the mastermind chef behind the scrumptious vegan burg
(05:00):
chain Plant Burger. He made his television debut on Top
Chef Chicago. Is the chair of the DC Food Policy
Council and also works with other organizations to promote food
access and sustainability. We will catch up with Spike right
after this, Let's start with Plant Burger. Plant Burger is
(05:28):
famous for redefining America's favorite foods. Why do America's favorite
foods need redefining?
Speaker 5 (05:37):
Oh? Great, great question, and we're going to the heavy
a jasmine. I liked it.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
I like to go right in.
Speaker 5 (05:45):
You know. The reality is is.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
When you're looking you know, at you know, our planet
and climate changes was happening, and all the carbon emissions.
You know, it's it's enough data to kind of make
a good story on why we need to kind of.
Speaker 5 (05:59):
Revive and you you look at diabetes and.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
All the other things that come along with our diets.
Right now, you know, I think it's the opportune time
to kind of redefine fast food, fast casual food, some
America's favorite foods, you know. And the problem before was
is that we couldn't make those foods delicious enough or
(06:22):
have the right type of textures to actually produce a
delicious experience for people.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
And I know that Plant Burger's mission is to give
people the ability to eat the change. So a sort
of relating question, I'm curious, what is the change that's
needed for at least us.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
We like to think as like, you know, look at
climate change through the lens of food, right. We think
that's specifically where I feel I could have the biggest
impact as a chef.
Speaker 5 (06:51):
So yeah, so eating. You know, the idea here is
you can.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Vote every two years, every four four years for elective official, right,
but every day you can take matters into your own hands, right,
and you can vote with your appetite.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
I know that food is a very personal political issue,
and even the idea of introducing a plant based burger
or a plant based diet into someone's life can result
in a lot of defensiveness.
Speaker 4 (07:15):
How do you break through that?
Speaker 5 (07:18):
You know, A great question. You know, There's been some.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Weird moments along the time along you know, uh opening
up plant burger. I remember one it was just like
a I think it was a grumpy, elderly gentleman.
Speaker 5 (07:28):
He like read plant burger and he was like, plant burger.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Really, really, this is what's happening now, you gotta do
you gotta.
Speaker 5 (07:37):
Mess with our burgers?
Speaker 6 (07:40):
You know.
Speaker 5 (07:40):
He stormed out of Whole Foods. Really, you know, because
I had basically offered him. I was like, hey, well
you know some plant you know, plant burger.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
But it's funny you asked me this question because I'd say, listen,
I have not been a plant based chef my whole
entire life. I come from a pretty thick background of
cooking and working out a restaurant all over the world
and stuff. And my wife is the one that really
inspired me to start looking at this differently. And then
meeting set and beyond meeting gredient kind of just blew
(08:09):
my mind being a burger guy.
Speaker 5 (08:12):
So that you know that, that's kind of that that moment.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
But now that I've been doing this, I can't tell
you how many chefs call me and talk to me
and say like, hey, you're you're plant based now, like
like wow, like what's what's that?
Speaker 5 (08:23):
Like, you know what's going on?
Speaker 1 (08:25):
He's like, I'm thinking about you know, law of chefs
are like I'm thinking about making part of my restaurant
plant based, or introducing a plant based menu, or just
opening a full out plant based. So I'm seeing the
shift myself and my own network of chefs. You never
realized that are going to go for the plant based movement.
And what I usually say to them is like, listen,
like this is not as hard as you thought it was,
(08:45):
or think it is because first of all, you're already
two thirds of the way there on your current menus.
Speaker 5 (08:51):
Right when you're building a menu, you're.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Looking at a start, you're looking at a bench, when
you're looking at a protein. All you have to replace
is that one third part, and now you've got a
vegan vegetarian dish.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
So well, I love all of that.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
The more plant based foods that can exist in the world,
the better. But what I find particularly intriguing about you
is that you're not just opportunistic, even.
Speaker 4 (09:10):
Though clearly there's a market for it.
Speaker 3 (09:12):
You're also walking the walk and food is activism for you.
So I'd love to talk a little bit about that.
What does it mean to be a planet friendly chef?
I've seen you refer to.
Speaker 5 (09:22):
Yourself that way. Planet friendly. You got to do good
by the planet, you know. I think where we are
right now is we're at we're at an.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
Imbalance, and that's why we're seeing, you know, all these
things happening with climate change and where we are, so
we just not need to fix the balance a little
bit more so.
Speaker 5 (09:38):
That's why when I reference there's a.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Huge shift happening in the food system, it's not only
like on menus, but how we're sourcing it, you know,
how is it.
Speaker 5 (09:47):
Traveling from point A to point B? And you know
all those those types of things.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
We're starting to look at carbon you know, emissions in
a really big way and how you can offset them.
Speaker 5 (09:55):
So to me, that's kind of what being a planet
chef means. Right. So I do a lot of you know,
I chair the.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
Food Policy Council locally here for Mayor Bowser, the first
DC Food Policy Council, and the plant based movement comes
up many times about school.
Speaker 5 (10:14):
Lunches and how we can you know, educate kids.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
A little bit more about their fruits and vegetables. And
that's kind of one of the things I enjoyed doing there.
You know, at the Food Policy Council, that's not only
what we concentrate on sustainable agriculture, urban farming, you know,
small businesses, food deserts, but really making those options, right, Like,
we're only going to be able to make this shift
if the demand of plant based foods is there, right, And.
Speaker 5 (10:39):
That's why it's really important to have education about plant
based foods and food deserts.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Right.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
Well, I love that, And you mentioned food waste, which
I know is something you're also very thoughtful about in
your advocacy work. Why is food waste a problem? And
what would you say people can do to address it?
Speaker 1 (10:59):
Yeah, I mean simple, I mean food waste is is
a massive problem.
Speaker 5 (11:03):
I mean, look at you.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Know, the most simplest way to put in and lightweight
is that there are a totle homeless people, uh you know,
walking around without a meal. There are a lot of
kids that only can only depend on a school breakfast
and a school lunch because they're unable to get fed.
And when you look at the numbers and we we
we you know, we we waste about fifty five percent
(11:26):
of our of our food, you know that we produce
and all all that all that goes into like producing
that food. That's a really really huge number, right, So
there's definitely a fixed there.
Speaker 3 (11:40):
Well. I love the fact that you come at your
food arch through such an activist lens, And I'm curious
where that was sparked for you, Like what when did
you start to approach your work from such a social
justice angle?
Speaker 1 (11:57):
Yeah, I mean I think it was always like a
little bit it a you know, I was in d C,
I launched my first brands. I just got off a top.
Speaker 5 (12:06):
Chef like I was, you know, like you know, getting
notoriety and celebrity, and I was a little bit mixed up.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
But one of the things that I that really hit
home for me is when my first couple of restaurants
in the DC area became successful, I really felt, for
once in my life a sense of community and a
sense of wanting to give back. And my restaurants are
on the Capitol Hill and it's made up of all
young staffers that have moved to Capitol Hall to make
a difference in our world. So to me, I was
(12:32):
just like looking back and meeting all these staffers that
come into my restaurants and I was like, I need
to do something. My real first thing in the DCRE
was working with Horden's Kids, which was an organization in
Ward seven and eight where you know, it's the food
desert areas where kids after school like where are they going?
Speaker 5 (12:51):
What are they doing?
Speaker 1 (12:52):
And I was opening up my restaurants instead of kids
just being out on the streets, I was inviting them
in to learn a recipe or cook and that part
really kind of like, uh, you.
Speaker 5 (13:02):
Know, kind of hit home.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
And then you know, we opened our restaurant right when
the Obama's inauguration happened. I think it was like the
two weeks before inauguration, And shortly after that, we had
been invited to the White House to Easter egg role
and I got to meet Sam cast, the White House chef,
and a ton of other people, and before I knew it,
(13:24):
we were being asked to kind of congregate together a group.
Speaker 5 (13:28):
Of a dozen chefs, and and you know, we wanted
to kind of you know.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
The initiative that Michelle Obama wanted us is to kind
of go look at schools and see what they're feeding,
you know, our kids in cafeterias, and see how we
can you know, uh, look at the school lunch program
a little differently and what are the tweaks we need
to make. So, you know, I was really honored to
be to be asked by the first lady to be
one of those twelve chefs that to go sponsor a school.
But oh, we got to get on this spikes doing
(13:55):
it just now. That's not all what happened, but you know,
you're seeing it from big companies like Tyson's is coming
out with their plant based shrimp burger. Can get a promotions,
Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken, you know, and this is
this is not don't get I believe this is not
a bad This is something to stick.
Speaker 5 (14:12):
And I think this is just one put in.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
But they're you know, you're gonna see these brands dive
in a little deeper as time goes.
Speaker 3 (14:20):
Right now, Well that's music to my ears. Are there
any specific foods that are heavily featured in American cuisine
that you have yet to veganize but would like to?
Speaker 5 (14:32):
Yeah, I mean I'm a big pizza guy. I mean
I have veganized pizza.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
I think the cheese for the shredded cheese for the
pizza has not quite arrived yet.
Speaker 5 (14:45):
It's not far behind.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
It's just a little too gooey, so they're gutting for it,
so they're almost there.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
I lived through the dark days of vegan cheese, so
I took one for the team.
Speaker 5 (14:56):
You're welcome.
Speaker 4 (14:57):
It was it was very bad.
Speaker 3 (14:59):
Yeah, when I first said vegan and it like was hardboard,
you know, awful. Yeah, I'd love to just as the
final question for you, I know you have a kid,
I know you're very invested in a better world, and
that that seems to drive a lot of the work
that you do. Can you tell me about the better
world that you hope to be a part of creating.
(15:19):
What does it look like?
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Yeah, well, I really hope it's less, you know, just
device you know, it's just.
Speaker 5 (15:30):
I just want to see us come.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
Together a little bit more on the you know, the
common things that that we share in the world, and
one of them is definitely food and you know, the
wellness of our planet. I think you know, we can
all all kind of come to agree on that. I'm
really excited to see these younger the younger generation, my kid,
people that are a little bit older. I think that's
(15:52):
really where the movement's being driven, especially with climate change.
And now that you know we've connected climate change with
your food and your appor.
Speaker 5 (16:00):
Tight, I think we're gonna see a ton more of
that happening, you know.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
And all I ask is just for you know, uh
in the world really is just like let people live
their lives and don't be too judgmental. There's you know,
there's many different ways to look at this life on
this planet, you know, and and we can't always all agree,
but less at least like respect each other and and
(16:28):
and you know, realize that, you know, we don't own
this we don't own this planet.
Speaker 5 (16:33):
Right, it's not here to be.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
Abused, it's not here to to kind of you know,
mess around with. We're we're here to be part of
this planet planet in this moment in time, you know.
And and if we can just start to get the
ship going in the right direction, you know, I also
think foodist therapy. I think like, if you eat the
(16:54):
right types of foods, you're gonna be You're gonna look
at the world a little bit better, right, a little different,
and you know, we start to develop respect for the planet,
you're going to start to develop more respectful human beings
as well.
Speaker 5 (17:06):
Right, So.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
That's kind of kind of what I'm in it for.
And I know it sounds a little a little hippy ish.
Speaker 4 (17:13):
Well, I'm down with that goal.
Speaker 3 (17:14):
I'm down with the world that you're building and creating.
And I can imagine having a kid would add another
layer of.
Speaker 4 (17:20):
That sort of.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
Vision to bringing it to light the importance of making
sure that he inherits that world.
Speaker 5 (17:30):
So absolutely, well, I'm very.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Excited to be able to chat with you, and I,
like I said, I totally agree that sometimes we can
appeal to people's consciousness about animals, but most of the
time we just have to make it delicious and put
the food in front of them.
Speaker 4 (17:43):
So I'm glad that you're doing that.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
Thanks so much. We'll be in touch.
Speaker 5 (17:46):
Thank you great, great questions, and thank you for for
highlighting what our team's doing. So I appreciate you.
Speaker 4 (17:52):
Of course. All right, oh Ji soon, take care. Thanks
so much.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
One of my favorite parts about the veg News podcast
is getting to talk to Sarah McLaughlin, who is really
the expert in all of the hot new vegan products,
and Sarah's back with us today.
Speaker 4 (18:08):
Welcome back, Sarah.
Speaker 7 (18:10):
Hi excited to be here.
Speaker 3 (18:12):
Yes, I am so excited because you're talking about something
that I'm very passionate about today and you're going to
be giving us the low down on all of the
innovations in the world of vegan eggs. And that's such
a funny turn of phrase, vegan eggs. It's kind of
an oxymoron, isn't it right?
Speaker 7 (18:32):
Yeah, I mean it's a relatively new field of vegan products.
We haven't really had anything that revolutionary until the last
couple of years, so it's really exciting.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
So tell us about the vegan eggs that you're particularly
excited about. And I just want to have a meta
moment for one second, because it's like totally bananas to
me that we can not only have a conversation about this,
but have a conversation about, like, which are your favorites?
Speaker 4 (18:59):
That's how many have to choose from.
Speaker 7 (19:01):
Right, Yeah, And it's kind of cool because up until
a few years ago, we really only had like powder
products that you mixed with water to make like a scramble.
And now we've got like sunny side up runny eggs
and hard boiled eggs even and like liquid scrambles and
breakfast sandwiches are popping up everywhere, so it's really exciting.
Speaker 4 (19:21):
That's so funny.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
I was just eating lunch right before we were recording,
and my wife and I decided that we're going to
have breakfast for dinner tonight, and I wish I had
one of these on hand because we were just going
to do old fashioned tofu scramble, which you know, let's
have a runner up mentioned for tofu scramble before we
get into the hot new products.
Speaker 7 (19:40):
Right, Yeah, I mean I still have a tofuo scramble,
So I'm a fan.
Speaker 4 (19:45):
But for people who think bigger, where would they start.
Speaker 7 (19:49):
Well, one really exciting product that came out last year
is Crafty Counter hard boiled vegan Wonder Eggs, and it's
a woman owned company and they use really simple ingredients
and they're very like animal rights driven. They have a
lot of facts on their website if you're interested, you
can check them out about like how many eggs are
saved and what happens to chickens and factory farms and
(20:12):
all of that.
Speaker 4 (20:12):
So it's cool.
Speaker 7 (20:13):
It's a mission driven company and they actually make these
like really great hard boiled eggs, which is a cool
like nothing exists like that in the vegan world, so
I'm a fan.
Speaker 4 (20:24):
Of That's so funny.
Speaker 3 (20:26):
I definitely grew up having hard boiled eggs and then
I continued to eat them for that little period of
time where I was a vegetarian before I went vegan,
and I never thought that would be back in my life.
So all right, I'm definitely going to be keeping an
eye out for that.
Speaker 7 (20:41):
What's next next is a like favorite of ours. It's
Jest Egg. We've been a long time fan of Jest
Egg and they kind of changed the game when it
came to getting vegan egg products into mainstream restaurants and
chains and stuff like that, and especially when they came
out with the folded verse of their egg, which is
basically like an egg already cooked, like an egg patty
(21:04):
you'd have on a breakfast sandwich. And now they have
it at like Pizte's Coffee and Fills and a bunch
of coffee chains where you can now get breakfast sandwiches
because of est Egg, which is really cool. And they
just came out with a chili crisp breakfast scramble which
is really delicious. So it's like already the egg already
cooked with veggies and everything, so it makes breakfast really
(21:25):
really easy.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
Just Egg is like borderline creepy, like in the best
possible way. It's one of those things where when you
get it out at the store, you're like, wait, are
you sure this is vegan? You have to like ask
the barista, are you sure this is vegan?
Speaker 4 (21:40):
And I love it? You're right. Just Egg totally changed
my life too.
Speaker 7 (21:45):
Yeah, I mean I think it's maybe my favorite vegan
product of all time.
Speaker 4 (21:50):
Wow, Sarah, that's like a big statement.
Speaker 7 (21:55):
It's just it's your damage.
Speaker 4 (21:57):
Well, we probably.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
Should have ended with that one, but I still have
more on the list, so tell us what else.
Speaker 7 (22:03):
So next is yo egg, which is this really cool
new product that came out really recently and it's basically
like a runny egg. So there's all these videos of
it going around social media where people are like cutting
into it and they yelt kind of runs out. So
it's a relatively new company. Their product is still hitting
in the market, but they use really simple plant based
(22:24):
ingredients like chickpeas and soy and sunflower oil and stuff
like that. But somehow they achieved the runny egg thing,
which is really hard to achieve, so that's really exciting.
Speaker 4 (22:34):
Wow. I just went to their website while you were talking.
Speaker 3 (22:37):
It's Yo dash egg dot com and it's I don't
even everyone listening to this needs to go there immediately,
like what the heck?
Speaker 4 (22:48):
That's outstanding, all right, and I can't believe it. But
there's more like several more. What's next, Sarah?
Speaker 7 (22:55):
So jumping across the pond in the UK is a
company called Ogs and they've made their mission to reduce
the need for chicken eggs and they've actually saved five
million chicken eggs since they launch in twenty nineteen, they
have a whole range of plant based egg alternatives. They
have vegan scramble. They also make Aqua Faba that's like
ready to use and can replace egg whites when you
(23:18):
need in baking. And then they also make a bunch
of products that usually contain eggs that just are egg free.
So that's the UK egg alternative over there. But it's
really cool. In the last years they've reduced the need
for five million chicken eggs.
Speaker 3 (23:33):
So I really appreciate that you're bringing mission driven companies
into this listicle.
Speaker 4 (23:40):
Which is a silly word, but I like to say lithtical.
Speaker 3 (23:43):
Because it is really cool, especially in this day and
age where everyone is getting acquired by everyone else, which
I'm a fan of. I think, you know, that's how
vegans can win.
Speaker 4 (23:52):
But it's still really.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
Good to know that you're supporting companies that you believe in.
Speaker 7 (23:57):
Yeah, totally, So keep going.
Speaker 4 (24:00):
I'm starving, but keep going anyway.
Speaker 7 (24:02):
Okay, So next is acre Made and they are a
scramble product also, but it's a powdered based one, so
when you'd mix with water, and they use pea protein
for the base, which makes it really allergen friendly. For
people who might be like allergic to soy or things
like that, there is a product for them that they
can use, and it actually scrambles up really well. So
(24:23):
it's a cool little alternative.
Speaker 4 (24:25):
Very cool.
Speaker 3 (24:26):
I love a scramble, as you know, because I'll be
eating one for dinner, which I might eat as soon
as we're done with this, even though I had launched
fifteen minutes ago.
Speaker 4 (24:34):
Okay, so what else do you got for us?
Speaker 1 (24:37):
Next?
Speaker 7 (24:38):
Going back to the tofu scramble world Hoto Foods, which
is based out of Oakland, California. They actually make a
tofu egg product which is seasoned with black salt, which
gives it kind of that sulfury egg taste that people
like and tumoric and stuff. So it scrambles up and
looks just like egg, but it is actually just a
tofu scramble that they've dressed up really well. But I'm
(25:01):
a fan of that product for sure, because I still
have a good tofu scramble.
Speaker 4 (25:05):
Yes, totally.
Speaker 3 (25:06):
You could feel so many things in it, but it
sounds like this is a shortcut for that. Because I'm
always like, what do I have in the freezer that
I could throw in, but the idea of having that
already made for me is perfect for my lazy sensibilities.
So all right, and I think you have one more
egg to report on today.
Speaker 5 (25:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (25:24):
So the last product is also a liquid egg scramble
that's made from pepitas soch at pumpkin seeds and it
has really simple ingredients and uses like mushroom extracts and
things like that, but it's totally say free and nut free. Also,
it just happens to have pumpkin seeds, so it also
makes it a really allergen friendly alternative and different than
(25:47):
like other products like just egg uses mung beans, So
they all kind of are using these different bass from
the plant based world to achieve that aggy scramble taste.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
Well, if you're not following the newest vegan egg innovations,
then dare I say you have egg on your face?
That was terrible, but I felt like it was necessary
Before you go, Sarah tell us about like what your
favorite way of replacing eggs in baking is.
Speaker 7 (26:15):
Uh, Well, I actually have been experimenting with using just
egg in baking. I think it gives it like that
richness that some things call far when you use eggs
and baking. But I mean I'm always a fan of
the classic like flaxeed replacement or you just mix some
ground flax and water. I feel like it's it works
really well and it gets the job done. I've been
(26:37):
using that for like the last ten years that I've
been vegan, so it's always a good fallback when you
don't have a specialty product on hand.
Speaker 4 (26:46):
Very cool.
Speaker 3 (26:47):
Thank you so much, Sarah. Definitely come back soon so
we can continue to pick your brain.
Speaker 7 (26:52):
I will sounds good.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
The veg News podcast hotline is open for business.
Speaker 4 (27:00):
Give us a call at eight eight eight nine to
one Vegan.
Speaker 3 (27:03):
To ask your plant based questions. This question comes from
Anna in San Francisco.
Speaker 5 (27:09):
Hi, Jason, I just received an airfier for my birthday.
Speaker 8 (27:12):
I have no idea where to start. Any tips for
creating vegan meals using an airfi.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
Well, Anna, I just love a good air fried dish.
The lightness created by the low to no oil cooking
that can be done with an air fryer is really nice,
especially for summer, and a lot of frozen foods even
come with air frier directions right on the package these days,
which is super helpful As far as things you can
cook in the air fryer, honestly, the sky's the limit.
(27:39):
You can make anything from breakfast to dessert in these
like gorgeous compact marbles that I wish I had had
my whole life, but I'm so happy I have now.
I would recommend grabbing yourself at least one vegan airfrer
cookbook to help you get started with your new kitchen.
Speaker 4 (27:55):
BFF.
Speaker 3 (27:56):
There are so many great cookbooks out there, but a
couple of my favorite air fer ones are The Vegan
Airfryer by JL Fields and Vegan Cooking in Your air
Fryer by Kathy Hester. Starting out on your air frier
journey with a great cookbook will be really helpful, especially
as you learn about temperatures and times that work best
for different textures and ingredients, so that you can become
(28:17):
more familiar with air fryer cooking.
Speaker 4 (28:19):
But honestly, sometimes it's just trial and error.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
I'm not one for following a recipe. My favorite thing
to do in the air fryer is to air fry
tofu and throw it on my salad. I also air
fry vegan hotdogs when I need a really quick lunch.
I told you I'm not much of a cook, but
airfryers make that a non starter. Also, don't miss out
on the air frier recipes over at vaginows dot com.
(28:44):
Click on the recipe tab and search for air fryer
to find some truly scrumptious options that will get you
cooking with fire or with air.
Speaker 4 (28:52):
You catch my drift.
Speaker 3 (28:54):
One of my favorites is to make the spicy buffalo
Tofu poppers, whose rest you can also find on VegNews
dot com. And they're made with a very simple batter
of chickpea flour because chickpeas are magical, mixed with water
and then rolled into bread crumbs before popping them into
the air fryer.
Speaker 4 (29:13):
You finish them off with a.
Speaker 3 (29:14):
Spicy sweet maple sauce and twelve minutes and dinner is served.
It's so easy, it's so good, and also it's easy
to make it gluten free with the right bread crumbs selection.
Best of luck, Anna, and let us know what you
cook up. Give us a call at eight eight eight
nine to one Vegan to get your questions answered. That's
eight eight eight nine one vegn.
Speaker 4 (29:36):
We can't wait to hear from you.
Speaker 3 (29:39):
Let's check in with veg News publisher Colleen Holland to
hear the latest on all of the exciting things happening
at veg News. HQ.
Speaker 6 (29:47):
Hi Colleen, tell us what's going on this week at
veg News.
Speaker 4 (29:50):
Hi, Jasmine.
Speaker 8 (29:51):
So good to be dropping by the veg Neese podcast.
You know, I'm so proud of all our content that
we produce each and every day. We have such an
amazing team of writers and editors, But lately I've been
especially proud of our incredible health coverage. Our team pours
over all of the newly released studies every single day
(30:13):
so we can share the best of the best information
with our readers, the information that we think will matter
most to you. And just sort of perusing some of
our recent stories about really interesting health studies. We've got
things like the power of green tea fighting fibroids, or
how a plant based diet can help with psoriasis or
(30:33):
contribute to longevity, what is the correlation between diabetes and
a vegan diet, and could carrots be the key to
heart health. We also give our readers the low down
on things like the Keto diet or the Mediterranean diet.
And share how mushrooms are shown to help our hearts, gut,
and muscles, and the list goes on. These are just
a few of the recent incredible health oriented stories we've covered,
(30:57):
and there are so much more, so check out all
of these and more at vegenews dot com. And just
one final thing, if you've been thinking about subscribing to vegemmes,
which we really hope you will, we'd love to have
all of you as readers, please do so. During our
birthday month July first, we turned twenty three, We've been
celebrating all month long and we're having a big birthday sales,
(31:17):
so be sure to check out VegNews dot com slash
birthday for all of our great birthday you know, celebratory deals.
So thanks to everyone for listening, and we hope you have.
Speaker 7 (31:28):
A great week.
Speaker 6 (31:38):
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 us.
Speaker 4 (31:55):
Guides, and so much more.
Speaker 3 (31:58):
And don't forget 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 Garza, Sarah McLaughlin,
Jocelyn Martinez, Vicky Beechler, and Lourie Johnston for their work
(32:18):
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 4 (32:29):
Bye for now.
Straw Hut Media.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Food news, celebrities, and more from the world's number one
plant based food and lifestyle magazine. It's the veg News
Podcast and here's your host, Jasmine Singer.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
Happy Tuesday, everyone, I'm Jasmine Singer, your host for this
new installment of the veg News Podcast, brought to you
by mud Water, the coffee alternative made with adaptogenic mushrooms.
This week we will hear from Spike Mendelssohn, the chef
behind vegan Burger chain plant Burger that's spelled p LNT
in case you were wondering. We'll also check in with
(00:46):
New Products editor Sarah McLachlan, answer questions from the veg
News Hotline, and get an update on all the apps
at veg News HQ from publisher Colleen Holland. But first,
it's time for the Headlines of the week. Each week
we'll be sharing our favorite stories.
Speaker 4 (01:02):
These are the ones.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
We can't stop talking about here at fadge News. Our
first story today, Leonardo DiCaprio is on a mission to
save the world, and he's empowering future generations to do
the same. The Oscar winning actor recently funded a climate
education program at UCLA's Lab School, where students will get
(01:26):
the hands on learning about sustainable gardening and healthy eating. Additionally,
the new Leonardo DiCaprio Scholarship Fund will help nurture diversity
at the Lab School, where forty percent of families rely
on financial aid. Here's to the next generation of diverse
climate leaders. Second story today, maybe Burger King needs to
(01:47):
take a page from Leo's playbook. The fast food chain
recently unveiled a new menu item across Thailand, the Real Cheeseburger.
The meatless creation is made with twenty slices of dairy
cheese nestled between two buns, and so comes at a
high cost to the environment. The nonprofit Water Education states
(02:09):
fifty six gallons of water are required to produce a
one ounce slice of dairy cheese, which means Burger Kings
Real Cheeseburger requires a wopping one thousand, one hundred and
twenty gallons of water per sandwich. Yikes, and our third
story today. A new study has found that an antioxidant
(02:32):
in green tea could help prevent and treat uterine fibroids.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University treated lab grown human fibroid
cells with an extract of epigallo catachins galate. Try and
say that five times fast, a powerful antioxidant compound found
in green tea also known as e g CG, which
(02:55):
is all I will ever say in the future when
I refer to it. The result else revealed a significant
reduction in fibrinectin protein levels and disruption of pathways associated
with fibroid tumor cell growth. This means that EGCG supplements
could be an easily accessible and natural way to relieve
(03:16):
symptoms of slow fibroid growth. Our fourth story today, do
meat labels create confusion about animal welfare? Experts say yes
with common labels like organic, grass fed and humanely raised.
Associate Professor of Animal Sciences at Purdue University, Marisa Erasmus
(03:37):
says it's important for consumers to educate themselves on what
these labels actually mean. In fact, some of these claims
are approved for use before supporting documentation is even provided. Luckily,
the USDA is looking to tighten restrictions on meat labels
to protect consumers from false and misleading claims. And our
(03:59):
fifth story today, it is Barbie's world and we're all
living in it. Now that the summer blockbuster has officially
hit theaters, why not visit the Malibu Barbie Cafe. Vegan
options abound at this pop up cafe, featuring a menu
created by master chef Alum Becky Brown Pataia, Chia pudding,
(04:21):
pink beet, hummus, call offlower bowls, and burgers can all
be ordered vegan. A partnership between Mattel and event organizer
Bucket Listers, the pop up cafe will run until mid
September in Chicago and New York City. And I'm seeing
Barbie tomorrow. I cannot wait.
Speaker 4 (04:38):
No spoilers.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
That's all for our top stories this week. All of
our headlines of the week will be linked in the
show notes at VegNews dot com slash podcast. This week's
guest is a celebrity chef, restauranteur, and food activist, Spike Mendelssohn.
It is the mastermind chef behind the scrumptious vegan burg
(05:00):
chain Plant Burger. He made his television debut on Top
Chef Chicago. Is the chair of the DC Food Policy
Council and also works with other organizations to promote food
access and sustainability. We will catch up with Spike right
after this, Let's start with Plant Burger. Plant Burger is
(05:28):
famous for redefining America's favorite foods. Why do America's favorite
foods need redefining?
Speaker 5 (05:37):
Oh? Great, great question, and we're going to the heavy
a jasmine. I liked it.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
I like to go right in.
Speaker 5 (05:45):
You know. The reality is is.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
When you're looking you know, at you know, our planet
and climate changes was happening, and all the carbon emissions.
You know, it's it's enough data to kind of make
a good story on why we need to kind of.
Speaker 5 (05:59):
Revive and you you look at diabetes and.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
All the other things that come along with our diets.
Right now, you know, I think it's the opportune time
to kind of redefine fast food, fast casual food, some
America's favorite foods, you know. And the problem before was
is that we couldn't make those foods delicious enough or
(06:22):
have the right type of textures to actually produce a
delicious experience for people.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
And I know that Plant Burger's mission is to give
people the ability to eat the change. So a sort
of relating question, I'm curious, what is the change that's
needed for at least us.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
We like to think as like, you know, look at
climate change through the lens of food, right. We think
that's specifically where I feel I could have the biggest
impact as a chef.
Speaker 5 (06:51):
So yeah, so eating. You know, the idea here is
you can.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Vote every two years, every four four years for elective official, right,
but every day you can take matters into your own hands, right,
and you can vote with your appetite.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
I know that food is a very personal political issue,
and even the idea of introducing a plant based burger
or a plant based diet into someone's life can result
in a lot of defensiveness.
Speaker 4 (07:15):
How do you break through that?
Speaker 5 (07:18):
You know, A great question. You know, There's been some.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Weird moments along the time along you know, uh opening
up plant burger. I remember one it was just like
a I think it was a grumpy, elderly gentleman.
Speaker 5 (07:28):
He like read plant burger and he was like, plant burger.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Really, really, this is what's happening now, you gotta do
you gotta.
Speaker 5 (07:37):
Mess with our burgers?
Speaker 6 (07:40):
You know.
Speaker 5 (07:40):
He stormed out of Whole Foods. Really, you know, because
I had basically offered him. I was like, hey, well
you know some plant you know, plant burger.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
But it's funny you asked me this question because I'd say, listen,
I have not been a plant based chef my whole
entire life. I come from a pretty thick background of
cooking and working out a restaurant all over the world
and stuff. And my wife is the one that really
inspired me to start looking at this differently. And then
meeting set and beyond meeting gredient kind of just blew
(08:09):
my mind being a burger guy.
Speaker 5 (08:12):
So that you know that, that's kind of that that moment.
Speaker 1 (08:14):
But now that I've been doing this, I can't tell
you how many chefs call me and talk to me
and say like, hey, you're you're plant based now, like
like wow, like what's what's that?
Speaker 5 (08:23):
Like, you know what's going on?
Speaker 1 (08:25):
He's like, I'm thinking about you know, law of chefs
are like I'm thinking about making part of my restaurant
plant based, or introducing a plant based menu, or just
opening a full out plant based. So I'm seeing the
shift myself and my own network of chefs. You never
realized that are going to go for the plant based movement.
And what I usually say to them is like, listen,
like this is not as hard as you thought it was,
(08:45):
or think it is because first of all, you're already
two thirds of the way there on your current menus.
Speaker 5 (08:51):
Right when you're building a menu, you're.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Looking at a start, you're looking at a bench, when
you're looking at a protein. All you have to replace
is that one third part, and now you've got a
vegan vegetarian dish.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
So well, I love all of that.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
The more plant based foods that can exist in the world,
the better. But what I find particularly intriguing about you
is that you're not just opportunistic, even.
Speaker 4 (09:10):
Though clearly there's a market for it.
Speaker 3 (09:12):
You're also walking the walk and food is activism for you.
So I'd love to talk a little bit about that.
What does it mean to be a planet friendly chef?
I've seen you refer to.
Speaker 5 (09:22):
Yourself that way. Planet friendly. You got to do good
by the planet, you know. I think where we are
right now is we're at we're at an.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
Imbalance, and that's why we're seeing, you know, all these
things happening with climate change and where we are, so
we just not need to fix the balance a little
bit more so.
Speaker 5 (09:38):
That's why when I reference there's a.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Huge shift happening in the food system, it's not only
like on menus, but how we're sourcing it, you know,
how is it.
Speaker 5 (09:47):
Traveling from point A to point B? And you know
all those those types of things.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
We're starting to look at carbon you know, emissions in
a really big way and how you can offset them.
Speaker 5 (09:55):
So to me, that's kind of what being a planet
chef means. Right. So I do a lot of you know,
I chair the.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
Food Policy Council locally here for Mayor Bowser, the first
DC Food Policy Council, and the plant based movement comes
up many times about school.
Speaker 5 (10:14):
Lunches and how we can you know, educate kids.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
A little bit more about their fruits and vegetables. And
that's kind of one of the things I enjoyed doing there.
You know, at the Food Policy Council, that's not only
what we concentrate on sustainable agriculture, urban farming, you know,
small businesses, food deserts, but really making those options, right, Like,
we're only going to be able to make this shift
if the demand of plant based foods is there, right, And.
Speaker 5 (10:39):
That's why it's really important to have education about plant
based foods and food deserts.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Right.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
Well, I love that, And you mentioned food waste, which
I know is something you're also very thoughtful about in
your advocacy work. Why is food waste a problem? And
what would you say people can do to address it?
Speaker 1 (10:59):
Yeah, I mean simple, I mean food waste is is
a massive problem.
Speaker 5 (11:03):
I mean, look at you.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Know, the most simplest way to put in and lightweight
is that there are a totle homeless people, uh you know,
walking around without a meal. There are a lot of
kids that only can only depend on a school breakfast
and a school lunch because they're unable to get fed.
And when you look at the numbers and we we
we you know, we we waste about fifty five percent
(11:26):
of our of our food, you know that we produce
and all all that all that goes into like producing
that food. That's a really really huge number, right, So
there's definitely a fixed there.
Speaker 3 (11:40):
Well. I love the fact that you come at your
food arch through such an activist lens, And I'm curious
where that was sparked for you, Like what when did
you start to approach your work from such a social
justice angle?
Speaker 1 (11:57):
Yeah, I mean I think it was always like a
little bit it a you know, I was in d C,
I launched my first brands. I just got off a top.
Speaker 5 (12:06):
Chef like I was, you know, like you know, getting
notoriety and celebrity, and I was a little bit mixed up.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
But one of the things that I that really hit
home for me is when my first couple of restaurants
in the DC area became successful, I really felt, for
once in my life a sense of community and a
sense of wanting to give back. And my restaurants are
on the Capitol Hill and it's made up of all
young staffers that have moved to Capitol Hall to make
a difference in our world. So to me, I was
(12:32):
just like looking back and meeting all these staffers that
come into my restaurants and I was like, I need
to do something. My real first thing in the DCRE
was working with Horden's Kids, which was an organization in
Ward seven and eight where you know, it's the food
desert areas where kids after school like where are they going?
Speaker 5 (12:51):
What are they doing?
Speaker 1 (12:52):
And I was opening up my restaurants instead of kids
just being out on the streets, I was inviting them
in to learn a recipe or cook and that part
really kind of like, uh, you.
Speaker 5 (13:02):
Know, kind of hit home.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
And then you know, we opened our restaurant right when
the Obama's inauguration happened. I think it was like the
two weeks before inauguration, And shortly after that, we had
been invited to the White House to Easter egg role
and I got to meet Sam cast, the White House chef,
and a ton of other people, and before I knew it,
(13:24):
we were being asked to kind of congregate together a group.
Speaker 5 (13:28):
Of a dozen chefs, and and you know, we wanted
to kind of you know.
Speaker 1 (13:33):
The initiative that Michelle Obama wanted us is to kind
of go look at schools and see what they're feeding,
you know, our kids in cafeterias, and see how we
can you know, uh, look at the school lunch program
a little differently and what are the tweaks we need
to make. So, you know, I was really honored to
be to be asked by the first lady to be
one of those twelve chefs that to go sponsor a school.
But oh, we got to get on this spikes doing
(13:55):
it just now. That's not all what happened, but you know,
you're seeing it from big companies like Tyson's is coming
out with their plant based shrimp burger. Can get a promotions,
Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken, you know, and this is
this is not don't get I believe this is not
a bad This is something to stick.
Speaker 5 (14:12):
And I think this is just one put in.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
But they're you know, you're gonna see these brands dive
in a little deeper as time goes.
Speaker 3 (14:20):
Right now, Well that's music to my ears. Are there
any specific foods that are heavily featured in American cuisine
that you have yet to veganize but would like to?
Speaker 5 (14:32):
Yeah, I mean I'm a big pizza guy. I mean
I have veganized pizza.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
I think the cheese for the shredded cheese for the
pizza has not quite arrived yet.
Speaker 5 (14:45):
It's not far behind.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
It's just a little too gooey, so they're gutting for it,
so they're almost there.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
I lived through the dark days of vegan cheese, so
I took one for the team.
Speaker 5 (14:56):
You're welcome.
Speaker 4 (14:57):
It was it was very bad.
Speaker 3 (14:59):
Yeah, when I first said vegan and it like was hardboard,
you know, awful. Yeah, I'd love to just as the
final question for you, I know you have a kid,
I know you're very invested in a better world, and
that that seems to drive a lot of the work
that you do. Can you tell me about the better
world that you hope to be a part of creating.
(15:19):
What does it look like?
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Yeah, well, I really hope it's less, you know, just
device you know, it's just.
Speaker 5 (15:30):
I just want to see us come.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
Together a little bit more on the you know, the
common things that that we share in the world, and
one of them is definitely food and you know, the
wellness of our planet. I think you know, we can
all all kind of come to agree on that. I'm
really excited to see these younger the younger generation, my kid,
people that are a little bit older. I think that's
(15:52):
really where the movement's being driven, especially with climate change.
And now that you know we've connected climate change with
your food and your appor.
Speaker 5 (16:00):
Tight, I think we're gonna see a ton more of
that happening, you know.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
And all I ask is just for you know, uh
in the world really is just like let people live
their lives and don't be too judgmental. There's you know,
there's many different ways to look at this life on
this planet, you know, and and we can't always all agree,
but less at least like respect each other and and
(16:28):
and you know, realize that, you know, we don't own
this we don't own this planet.
Speaker 5 (16:33):
Right, it's not here to be.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
Abused, it's not here to to kind of you know,
mess around with. We're we're here to be part of
this planet planet in this moment in time, you know.
And and if we can just start to get the
ship going in the right direction, you know, I also
think foodist therapy. I think like, if you eat the
(16:54):
right types of foods, you're gonna be You're gonna look
at the world a little bit better, right, a little different,
and you know, we start to develop respect for the planet,
you're going to start to develop more respectful human beings
as well.
Speaker 5 (17:06):
Right, So.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
That's kind of kind of what I'm in it for.
And I know it sounds a little a little hippy ish.
Speaker 4 (17:13):
Well, I'm down with that goal.
Speaker 3 (17:14):
I'm down with the world that you're building and creating.
And I can imagine having a kid would add another
layer of.
Speaker 4 (17:20):
That sort of.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
Vision to bringing it to light the importance of making
sure that he inherits that world.
Speaker 5 (17:30):
So absolutely, well, I'm very.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Excited to be able to chat with you, and I,
like I said, I totally agree that sometimes we can
appeal to people's consciousness about animals, but most of the
time we just have to make it delicious and put
the food in front of them.
Speaker 4 (17:43):
So I'm glad that you're doing that.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
Thanks so much. We'll be in touch.
Speaker 5 (17:46):
Thank you great, great questions, and thank you for for
highlighting what our team's doing. So I appreciate you.
Speaker 4 (17:52):
Of course. All right, oh Ji soon, take care. Thanks
so much.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
One of my favorite parts about the veg News podcast
is getting to talk to Sarah McLaughlin, who is really
the expert in all of the hot new vegan products,
and Sarah's back with us today.
Speaker 4 (18:08):
Welcome back, Sarah.
Speaker 7 (18:10):
Hi excited to be here.
Speaker 3 (18:12):
Yes, I am so excited because you're talking about something
that I'm very passionate about today and you're going to
be giving us the low down on all of the
innovations in the world of vegan eggs. And that's such
a funny turn of phrase, vegan eggs. It's kind of
an oxymoron, isn't it right?
Speaker 7 (18:32):
Yeah, I mean it's a relatively new field of vegan products.
We haven't really had anything that revolutionary until the last
couple of years, so it's really exciting.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
So tell us about the vegan eggs that you're particularly
excited about. And I just want to have a meta
moment for one second, because it's like totally bananas to
me that we can not only have a conversation about this,
but have a conversation about, like, which are your favorites?
Speaker 4 (18:59):
That's how many have to choose from.
Speaker 7 (19:01):
Right, Yeah, And it's kind of cool because up until
a few years ago, we really only had like powder
products that you mixed with water to make like a scramble.
And now we've got like sunny side up runny eggs
and hard boiled eggs even and like liquid scrambles and
breakfast sandwiches are popping up everywhere, so it's really exciting.
Speaker 4 (19:21):
That's so funny.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
I was just eating lunch right before we were recording,
and my wife and I decided that we're going to
have breakfast for dinner tonight, and I wish I had
one of these on hand because we were just going
to do old fashioned tofu scramble, which you know, let's
have a runner up mentioned for tofu scramble before we
get into the hot new products.
Speaker 7 (19:40):
Right, Yeah, I mean I still have a tofuo scramble,
So I'm a fan.
Speaker 4 (19:45):
But for people who think bigger, where would they start.
Speaker 7 (19:49):
Well, one really exciting product that came out last year
is Crafty Counter hard boiled vegan Wonder Eggs, and it's
a woman owned company and they use really simple ingredients
and they're very like animal rights driven. They have a
lot of facts on their website if you're interested, you
can check them out about like how many eggs are
saved and what happens to chickens and factory farms and
(20:12):
all of that.
Speaker 4 (20:12):
So it's cool.
Speaker 7 (20:13):
It's a mission driven company and they actually make these
like really great hard boiled eggs, which is a cool
like nothing exists like that in the vegan world, so
I'm a fan.
Speaker 4 (20:24):
Of That's so funny.
Speaker 3 (20:26):
I definitely grew up having hard boiled eggs and then
I continued to eat them for that little period of
time where I was a vegetarian before I went vegan,
and I never thought that would be back in my life.
So all right, I'm definitely going to be keeping an
eye out for that.
Speaker 7 (20:41):
What's next next is a like favorite of ours. It's
Jest Egg. We've been a long time fan of Jest
Egg and they kind of changed the game when it
came to getting vegan egg products into mainstream restaurants and
chains and stuff like that, and especially when they came
out with the folded verse of their egg, which is
basically like an egg already cooked, like an egg patty
(21:04):
you'd have on a breakfast sandwich. And now they have
it at like Pizte's Coffee and Fills and a bunch
of coffee chains where you can now get breakfast sandwiches
because of est Egg, which is really cool. And they
just came out with a chili crisp breakfast scramble which
is really delicious. So it's like already the egg already
cooked with veggies and everything, so it makes breakfast really
(21:25):
really easy.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
Just Egg is like borderline creepy, like in the best
possible way. It's one of those things where when you
get it out at the store, you're like, wait, are
you sure this is vegan? You have to like ask
the barista, are you sure this is vegan?
Speaker 4 (21:40):
And I love it? You're right. Just Egg totally changed
my life too.
Speaker 7 (21:45):
Yeah, I mean I think it's maybe my favorite vegan
product of all time.
Speaker 4 (21:50):
Wow, Sarah, that's like a big statement.
Speaker 7 (21:55):
It's just it's your damage.
Speaker 4 (21:57):
Well, we probably.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
Should have ended with that one, but I still have
more on the list, so tell us what else.
Speaker 7 (22:03):
So next is yo egg, which is this really cool
new product that came out really recently and it's basically
like a runny egg. So there's all these videos of
it going around social media where people are like cutting
into it and they yelt kind of runs out. So
it's a relatively new company. Their product is still hitting
in the market, but they use really simple plant based
(22:24):
ingredients like chickpeas and soy and sunflower oil and stuff
like that. But somehow they achieved the runny egg thing,
which is really hard to achieve, so that's really exciting.
Speaker 4 (22:34):
Wow. I just went to their website while you were talking.
Speaker 3 (22:37):
It's Yo dash egg dot com and it's I don't
even everyone listening to this needs to go there immediately,
like what the heck?
Speaker 4 (22:48):
That's outstanding, all right, and I can't believe it. But
there's more like several more. What's next, Sarah?
Speaker 7 (22:55):
So jumping across the pond in the UK is a
company called Ogs and they've made their mission to reduce
the need for chicken eggs and they've actually saved five
million chicken eggs since they launch in twenty nineteen, they
have a whole range of plant based egg alternatives. They
have vegan scramble. They also make Aqua Faba that's like
ready to use and can replace egg whites when you
(23:18):
need in baking. And then they also make a bunch
of products that usually contain eggs that just are egg free.
So that's the UK egg alternative over there. But it's
really cool. In the last years they've reduced the need
for five million chicken eggs.
Speaker 3 (23:33):
So I really appreciate that you're bringing mission driven companies
into this listicle.
Speaker 4 (23:40):
Which is a silly word, but I like to say lithtical.
Speaker 3 (23:43):
Because it is really cool, especially in this day and
age where everyone is getting acquired by everyone else, which
I'm a fan of. I think, you know, that's how
vegans can win.
Speaker 4 (23:52):
But it's still really.
Speaker 3 (23:53):
Good to know that you're supporting companies that you believe in.
Speaker 7 (23:57):
Yeah, totally, So keep going.
Speaker 4 (24:00):
I'm starving, but keep going anyway.
Speaker 7 (24:02):
Okay, So next is acre Made and they are a
scramble product also, but it's a powdered based one, so
when you'd mix with water, and they use pea protein
for the base, which makes it really allergen friendly. For
people who might be like allergic to soy or things
like that, there is a product for them that they
can use, and it actually scrambles up really well. So
(24:23):
it's a cool little alternative.
Speaker 4 (24:25):
Very cool.
Speaker 3 (24:26):
I love a scramble, as you know, because I'll be
eating one for dinner, which I might eat as soon
as we're done with this, even though I had launched
fifteen minutes ago.
Speaker 4 (24:34):
Okay, so what else do you got for us?
Speaker 1 (24:37):
Next?
Speaker 7 (24:38):
Going back to the tofu scramble world Hoto Foods, which
is based out of Oakland, California. They actually make a
tofu egg product which is seasoned with black salt, which
gives it kind of that sulfury egg taste that people
like and tumoric and stuff. So it scrambles up and
looks just like egg, but it is actually just a
tofu scramble that they've dressed up really well. But I'm
(25:01):
a fan of that product for sure, because I still
have a good tofu scramble.
Speaker 4 (25:05):
Yes, totally.
Speaker 3 (25:06):
You could feel so many things in it, but it
sounds like this is a shortcut for that. Because I'm
always like, what do I have in the freezer that
I could throw in, but the idea of having that
already made for me is perfect for my lazy sensibilities.
So all right, and I think you have one more
egg to report on today.
Speaker 5 (25:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (25:24):
So the last product is also a liquid egg scramble
that's made from pepitas soch at pumpkin seeds and it
has really simple ingredients and uses like mushroom extracts and
things like that, but it's totally say free and nut free. Also,
it just happens to have pumpkin seeds, so it also
makes it a really allergen friendly alternative and different than
(25:47):
like other products like just egg uses mung beans, So
they all kind of are using these different bass from
the plant based world to achieve that aggy scramble taste.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
Well, if you're not following the newest vegan egg innovations,
then dare I say you have egg on your face?
That was terrible, but I felt like it was necessary
Before you go, Sarah tell us about like what your
favorite way of replacing eggs in baking is.
Speaker 7 (26:15):
Uh, Well, I actually have been experimenting with using just
egg in baking. I think it gives it like that
richness that some things call far when you use eggs
and baking. But I mean I'm always a fan of
the classic like flaxeed replacement or you just mix some
ground flax and water. I feel like it's it works
really well and it gets the job done. I've been
(26:37):
using that for like the last ten years that I've
been vegan, so it's always a good fallback when you
don't have a specialty product on hand.
Speaker 4 (26:46):
Very cool.
Speaker 3 (26:47):
Thank you so much, Sarah. Definitely come back soon so
we can continue to pick your brain.
Speaker 7 (26:52):
I will sounds good.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
The veg News podcast hotline is open for business.
Speaker 4 (27:00):
Give us a call at eight eight eight nine to
one Vegan.
Speaker 3 (27:03):
To ask your plant based questions. This question comes from
Anna in San Francisco.
Speaker 5 (27:09):
Hi, Jason, I just received an airfier for my birthday.
Speaker 8 (27:12):
I have no idea where to start. Any tips for
creating vegan meals using an airfi.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
Well, Anna, I just love a good air fried dish.
The lightness created by the low to no oil cooking
that can be done with an air fryer is really nice,
especially for summer, and a lot of frozen foods even
come with air frier directions right on the package these days,
which is super helpful As far as things you can
cook in the air fryer, honestly, the sky's the limit.
(27:39):
You can make anything from breakfast to dessert in these
like gorgeous compact marbles that I wish I had had
my whole life, but I'm so happy I have now.
I would recommend grabbing yourself at least one vegan airfrer
cookbook to help you get started with your new kitchen.
Speaker 4 (27:55):
BFF.
Speaker 3 (27:56):
There are so many great cookbooks out there, but a
couple of my favorite air fer ones are The Vegan
Airfryer by JL Fields and Vegan Cooking in Your air
Fryer by Kathy Hester. Starting out on your air frier
journey with a great cookbook will be really helpful, especially
as you learn about temperatures and times that work best
for different textures and ingredients, so that you can become
(28:17):
more familiar with air fryer cooking.
Speaker 4 (28:19):
But honestly, sometimes it's just trial and error.
Speaker 3 (28:22):
I'm not one for following a recipe. My favorite thing
to do in the air fryer is to air fry
tofu and throw it on my salad. I also air
fry vegan hotdogs when I need a really quick lunch.
I told you I'm not much of a cook, but
airfryers make that a non starter. Also, don't miss out
on the air frier recipes over at vaginows dot com.
(28:44):
Click on the recipe tab and search for air fryer
to find some truly scrumptious options that will get you
cooking with fire or with air.
Speaker 4 (28:52):
You catch my drift.
Speaker 3 (28:54):
One of my favorites is to make the spicy buffalo
Tofu poppers, whose rest you can also find on VegNews
dot com. And they're made with a very simple batter
of chickpea flour because chickpeas are magical, mixed with water
and then rolled into bread crumbs before popping them into
the air fryer.
Speaker 4 (29:13):
You finish them off with a.
Speaker 3 (29:14):
Spicy sweet maple sauce and twelve minutes and dinner is served.
It's so easy, it's so good, and also it's easy
to make it gluten free with the right bread crumbs selection.
Best of luck, Anna, and let us know what you
cook up. Give us a call at eight eight eight
nine to one Vegan to get your questions answered. That's
eight eight eight nine one vegn.
Speaker 4 (29:36):
We can't wait to hear from you.
Speaker 3 (29:39):
Let's check in with veg News publisher Colleen Holland to
hear the latest on all of the exciting things happening
at veg News. HQ.
Speaker 6 (29:47):
Hi Colleen, tell us what's going on this week at
veg News.
Speaker 4 (29:50):
Hi, Jasmine.
Speaker 8 (29:51):
So good to be dropping by the veg Neese podcast.
You know, I'm so proud of all our content that
we produce each and every day. We have such an
amazing team of writers and editors, But lately I've been
especially proud of our incredible health coverage. Our team pours
over all of the newly released studies every single day
(30:13):
so we can share the best of the best information
with our readers, the information that we think will matter
most to you. And just sort of perusing some of
our recent stories about really interesting health studies. We've got
things like the power of green tea fighting fibroids, or
how a plant based diet can help with psoriasis or
(30:33):
contribute to longevity, what is the correlation between diabetes and
a vegan diet, and could carrots be the key to
heart health. We also give our readers the low down
on things like the Keto diet or the Mediterranean diet.
And share how mushrooms are shown to help our hearts, gut,
and muscles, and the list goes on. These are just
a few of the recent incredible health oriented stories we've covered,
(30:57):
and there are so much more, so check out all
of these and more at vegenews dot com. And just
one final thing, if you've been thinking about subscribing to vegemmes,
which we really hope you will, we'd love to have
all of you as readers, please do so. During our
birthday month July first, we turned twenty three, We've been
celebrating all month long and we're having a big birthday sales,
(31:17):
so be sure to check out VegNews dot com slash
birthday for all of our great birthday you know, celebratory deals.
So thanks to everyone for listening, and we hope you have.
Speaker 7 (31:28):
A great week.
Speaker 6 (31:38):
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 us.
Speaker 4 (31:55):
Guides, and so much more.
Speaker 3 (31:58):
And don't forget 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 Garza, Sarah McLaughlin,
Jocelyn Martinez, Vicky Beechler, and Lourie Johnston for their work
(32:18):
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 4 (32:29):
Bye for now.
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