August 1, 2023 • 42 mins
In this episode, we are joined by David Yeung, the founder of OmniPork! Plus we dish on the hottest headlines, talk ideas for easy weeknight meals, answer listener Q&As, and hear all of the exciting things happening at the VegNews HQ.
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Get all of the show notes at VegNews.com/podcast
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Become a VegNews VIP at VegNews.com/vip
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Episode Transcript
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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):
Hi there, and welcome back to another edition of the
veg News podcast, brought to you by the wildly popular
coffee alternative Mudwater. I'm your host, Jasmine Singer, and this
week we will be talking with David Yang, co founder
of Green Monday, the startup behind vegan meat company Omnipork.
We'll also touch base with veg News Food editor Eddie Garza,
(00:47):
answer all of your burning questions from the veg News hotline,
and check in with publisher Colleen Holland on what's happening
this week at veg News. But first, it's time for
the headlines of the week. Each week we'll be sharing
our favorite stories. These are the ones we can't stop
talking about around the kombucha tap at veg News. Headline
(01:10):
number one, get Ready, Chicago, there's a giant vegan food
hall coming to the Windy City. The ex Market Vegan
Food Hall will house six restaurants, a coffee shop, a
wine and beer bar, and a grocery store with its
very own wait for it, vegan cheesemonger, all under one roof.
(01:32):
Scheduled to open shortly after Labor Day, the new concept
will be the biggest vegan food hall in the Midwest.
I'm booking my trip right now. Our second headline today.
Plant based diets aren't just a win for the animals,
they're also beneficial for human and planetary health. According to
a study from the University of Oxford, diets rich in
(01:55):
plant based foods reduced greenhouse gas emissions, land use, and
water pollution by seventy five percent compared to diets high
in meat. And At Harvard's THH Chan School of Public Health,
people following an environmentally sustainable diet of whole grains, fruit nuts,
non starchy vegetables, and unsaturated oils were found to live
(02:19):
twenty five percent longer. Well, that's extra time for me
to enjoy some chocolate layer cake sands the dairy. Well
cheers to that headline. Number three. Boxing legend Mike Tyson
cannot get enough vegan burgers. The fifty seven year old
athlete recently visited Trill Burgers, a new burger joint that
(02:41):
just opened in Houston, Texas, last month. Locals and celebrities
alike are already flocking to the restaurant for a taste
of its crispy smash burgers. But for Tyson, it's the
vegan burger that stands out. I love this made with
a juicy, impossible pass, vegan trill sauce, caramelized onions, pickles,
(03:04):
and follow your heart's vegan cheese. The vegan og combo
earned Tyson's seale of approval. It's beautiful, said the boxing
legend in between bites Mike, You're beautiful headline number four. Today,
the fishing industry is driving down shark populations and driving
up plastic pollution boom. According to a new study published
(03:28):
in the journal Science, the reef shark population has dropped
by sixty three percent and overfishing is to blame. Additionally,
according to a study published in the journal Nature, most
of the population in coral reefs can also be attributed
to fishing, and this pollution is not just at the
(03:48):
surface of the water, but actually increases with depth. This
suggests reef species are struggling to get away from the
human impact, regardless of how deep down the ocean and
they go. That's such a sad story there soon won't
be more fish in the sea. Our fifth at headline
good news watermelon aficionados. Oh good, because I needed good news.
(04:12):
This juicy fruit isn't just tasty, it's a valuable addition
to a healthy diet, according to a recent study published
in the journal Nutrients. The study found that those who
included watermelon in their diets had increased intake of essential
nutrients including fiber, magnesium, and vitamins A and C, among others. Plus,
(04:33):
watermelon eaters had lower intake levels of saturated fatty acids
and added sugars. I'll take a slice or five. That's
all of our top stories for this week. All our
headlines of the week will be linked in the show
notes at VegNews dot com slash podcast. Our guest this
(04:56):
week is David Yang, co founder of Green Monday, a
startup from Hong Kong that is focused on making sustainable
living easy through conscious investing, the plant based market sensation
Green Common, and vegan meat brand Omni Pork. We'll hear
from David right after this. I am very excited to
(05:25):
talk to you at veage News. We're big fans, so
I'm really really grateful to you and to your wonderful
team for agreeing to chat this morning or this evening.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
In my case, no, it is my pleasure.
Speaker 5 (05:40):
Okay, perfect, thank you.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
I would like to talk about the Green Common stores
because they are really truly incredible and so I'd love
if in your own words you can describe.
Speaker 5 (05:50):
What they are and what they sell.
Speaker 4 (05:54):
Well. Green Common to me is a one stop experience
and uh, to redefine what future food is all about.
When we when people read from the news, you know,
food tagged food innovation, so many exciting news at the
(06:14):
end of the day, we're talking about food, right and
food you need a place to showcase them, you need
a place to experience them, and you need a place
for people to hang out because dining is a social activity.
I mean, I'm not exactly talking about anything rocket science here.
So what that means is if there are so many
(06:38):
of these new age food innovation, you know, and pioneering
the world to a new way of eating, uh, it
is to me, it's just extremely important to have one
place that people can you know, first of all, you
got to make it convenient, you got to make it accessible,
you got to make it fun, you got to make
(06:59):
it cool and turn it into a lifestyle. At the
end of the day, you know, collectively, what we are
doing in terms of shifting people to plant space and
a more sustainable healthy eating is it is fundamentally changing
people's lifestyle. And just like how you know, drinking coffee
(07:21):
at Starbucks, right, I mean, or buying coffee at Starbucks.
You're not just buying the coffee. You know, it's the
third space as of course nowadays is the that's the
term that is calling right and green common is that
green space. So we're trying to create a new plant space,
green lifestyle and to attract more people into it. So
(07:46):
a lot of times and of course you asked me
what we sell, so all the green commons are a
combination of dining and shopping. Now, for most people who
have never try any of these products, dining in the
store or takeaway, I mean, it's kind of the lowest
barrier for them because you know, words come to worst.
(08:08):
You know, they have one meal that they may not like.
But of course, stopside is once you impress them, once
you wow them with that first meal, then you convert
them to become believers and they say, hey, you know
I can try these and cook these at home. So
that's that's the powerful combination of the dining shopping, putting
(08:32):
it together. And as you said, you know people can
I mean particularly the health lovers. I mean, this would
be the heaven like for vegans and health lovers, green commonness,
that heaven.
Speaker 5 (08:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
What sparked the idea originally for this concept back?
Speaker 4 (08:49):
You know, when I was a kid going to supermarket,
particularly after a while, it's just a four right, you know,
you get the things you need and then you go.
But when I walk into Whole Food's many years ago,
I mean I was like, wow, I mean this is
almost like a health food museum right now. Of course,
I mean Whole Foods contains meat and you know, seafood
(09:10):
and all that, but from kind of an organic and
health food lover standpoint, I mean I really I did
spend like hours in Whole Foods and you know, even
you know, reading the labels or learning these new brands
or sometimes it could be some unknown brand you know,
from just two farmers in New Hampshire, and you're like,
(09:32):
you know, you are inspired by them and you want
to support them. So that kind of plans the seed.
And I'm like, how come you know, the other supermarkets
in the world not like that, especially not in Asia.
I mean, such kind of health oriented kind of grocery
supermarket did not exist. Now Green Common. It really is
(09:55):
about creating that vibe and that trust. I think the
key word is the trust that when you walk in
Green Common and you want to try something green, try
something healthy, you know you know you're in a safe place.
You know that we curate these products for our customers,
(10:19):
and you know it was not a random process on
what we select and what we don't select.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
Well, speaking of what you select, I know that Green
Common was the first retailer to carry the Beyond Burger
outside of the US. Can you tell me a little
bit about what the reception was to the Beyond Burger
in Hong Kong.
Speaker 4 (10:39):
It was overwhelming. I mean there's no doubt. I mean,
Beyond Burger is a game change, is a game changer.
It revolutionized how people perceive vegetarian plant space, whatever name
you know people call it. But I remember one of
the scenes in the early days when Beyond Burger arrived
(11:04):
was when we had a table of like seven men,
I mean just seven men came to Green Common. It
wasn't like a mix of you know, men and women.
It was just seven men, and I mean now looking back,
it sounds funny, but back then it was almost like
a groundbreaker and they like seven people ordered the burger
(11:26):
and a vegan restaurant, right, Yeah. And then the other
one was just someone who told me afterwards that like
he ate it for like seven times and it wasn't
until the eighth time that he realized that we are
a vegan restaurant.
Speaker 5 (11:39):
What was it about the eighth time? I'm wondering. You
said that the Beyond Burger was revolutionary.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
What has been revolutionary that you've seen since the Beyond Burger?
Speaker 4 (11:55):
Well, I am very humble to say that Omni Homney
Park has been also a groundbreaking revolutionary products. Now, they
are revolutionary in different ways because Park is something that
Asian people just consume a lot. When it comes to meat.
(12:19):
Let's say in mainland China, sixty five percent of meat
or animal protein is Park like pop dominates the meat scene. Actually,
it really wasn't until like maybe because of fast food
and Western kind of influence into mainland China, and beef
(12:41):
was a very very tiny part of Chinese diet. Park
was absolutely was and still is absolutely dominating the plates
in terms of protein. So for whatever reason, I mean countries,
people in countries such as Korea, you know, such as Singapore.
(13:02):
You know, we Philippines, I mean, we have gotten this
addiction to lunch and meets. You know, sometimes it's on
ramen noodles, sometimes it may be in a sandwich or
on sushi. And like Japanese people, like people in Hawaii,
you know, I mean love the spam musubi. So yeah,
(13:24):
when we developed both, you know, omni polk and then
the Omni polp lunch and these were particularly when we
first launched. I mean, it definitely generated a lot of interest.
So it's revolutionary in different ways. And thanks to many entrepreneurs,
thanks to many scientists, and definitely thanks to a lot
(13:44):
of impact investors, the industry clearly is breaking through and
entering mainstream in a big way. And you know we
witnessed this, you know, up close and personal, just like
Betch News, right. I mean Colleen, I mean, Colleen is
like pioneer of pioneers. I mean, like every year when
(14:06):
we visit Expo West, I mean you can tell that
the number of plant based brands is exploding. And so yes, indeed,
we all pave the way for each other and for
us in Asia, I mean Green Monday, Green Common has
been very much the pioneer as well. Well.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
I appreciate that you're so receptive to where people are
and I see that reflected in the foods and the
brands that you're creating.
Speaker 5 (14:38):
And I know that at Green Monday.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
You encourage people to approach plant based eating by incorporating
a full day of vegan eating per week.
Speaker 5 (14:47):
Actually, is that you do still do that? Right?
Speaker 4 (14:50):
Absolutely well. Our work of advocating the movement of Green
Monday never stops. I mean, in fact, that is oftentimes
the door opener or the conversation open them.
Speaker 3 (15:02):
And so why would you say it's important to encourage
these smaller changes as opposed to eliminating all animal products overnight.
Speaker 4 (15:11):
Well, I mean some people, maybe particularly the people in
this audience, we may be the ones who you know,
have a deeper, profound resonance with the causes behind the shift.
So I mean twenty years ago, I just turned vegetarian
overnight and I never looked back. But for the general public,
(15:38):
most people, in terms of behavior shift, do not act
that way. You know, you just don't go from someone
who never exercised to become like a full marathon runner
or professional athlete. Right, There's always a gradual process, and
in fact, that is how most of the big social
(15:58):
change happens. I mean, and then once you accumulate a
critical mass, that's when the tipping point takes place. So
to me, Green Monday is we are first of all,
lowering the barrier of adoption. I mean no one. I mean,
we're just saying, hey, one day a week, right, Okay,
(16:18):
if you cannot even do one day, do one meal, right,
one meal out of twenty one meals the week. Come on,
you know, Okay, okay, if you still cannot do one meal,
let's cut certain meats first, you know, cut red meats.
Let's say right. I mean, so Green Monday basically is
creating a platform that people cannot say no to.
Speaker 5 (16:41):
What's your big vision?
Speaker 3 (16:43):
I know that you said you don't have a crystal ball,
but if you did, and if you're looking into you know,
the world in fifty years from now, where does all
of this fit in for you on a worldview level?
Speaker 4 (16:59):
Well, we nowadays because of climate change, I mean, frankly,
we all I think fifty years too far. I mean,
we fifteen years maybe is a more realistic time horizon.
We have no choice, every human being on the planet.
(17:23):
We actually we should all ask ourselves back questions is
where will the world be in ten to fifteen, twenty years?
How will our world look like? And just spend like
five minutes, I mean even for the most unclimate knowledgeable people,
just spend five minutes to look at all the forecasts
(17:46):
from the scientists and from the facts. Right, Actually, you
don't even have to be a scientist. Just sometimes look
at the news, you know where everywhere in the world
on any given day or week there are extreme drought, heat,
you know, flooding, snow, you name them. Storm. So actually,
(18:12):
there are plenty of reports who say that we are
in the last decade of hopefully containing the damage of
climate so that we don't get to the point of
no return. So once we have that macro world view,
then we work back and say, you know, what do
(18:33):
we need to do now? So whether you are someone
who are you know, working a corporate, you work in
a government, uh you obviously we all are part of
a household or a family, you know, just individually and
collectively we have to act and that goes beyond food.
(18:54):
That that that is that applies to everything. So you know,
this is not just a question to you know, David Young,
founder of Green Monday, this should be a question to
every person on the planet.
Speaker 3 (19:08):
So we looked in the future. Let's go back in
time a little bit. You mentioned before that you went
vegetarian overnight twenty years ago.
Speaker 4 (19:17):
So it was it was two thousand and one and
I started. I started on New Year, or to be exact,
it was Chinese New Year, so I yeah, I made
the decision in December. I remember, and you know, I
was never a big meets either growing up. When my
(19:42):
mom took me to wet markets in Hong Kong, and
you know, I witnessed, you know, kind of the butchers
and then the seafood stall and all that. It was
actually quite a traumatic experience for me. Actually, a lot
of things were. I mean, I had those kind of
(20:03):
intermediate moments that just guide me to the point that
by the time I turned obvious, I turned adults and
I became an adult, and in that was in yeah,
two thousand and one, I decided eating meat was not
my thing anymore. So I turned and I just chose
(20:25):
a date because it was so near a year at
year end, I said I would just start this on
this new chapter on a new date, and it was
Chinese New of two thousand and one.
Speaker 3 (20:36):
You have a very positive, can do attitude and a
very sunny disposition.
Speaker 5 (20:43):
Can you talk a little bit about that for a moment,
like what gives you hope?
Speaker 4 (20:49):
Well, what gives me hope? So again another story, and
this came over the weekend. A friend's friend told my
friend who told me that their their household, the kids
now they're eating the vegan nuggets that they buy from
(21:11):
Green Common and the kids because that's the nugget they
grow up eating. I mean, after now two or three years,
this becomes the nugget that they eat. They would not
they would no longer eat you know, chicken nuggets. And
they obviously become, you know, frequent customers of ours. But
(21:33):
my point is not because they're frequent customers. My point
is they become regular, plant spaceed eating plant based, become
the regular for their family and for their kids probably
seventy eight. Now again, of course that's just one family,
but there are many, many of these stories, and that
(21:57):
gives me hope. It indeed a lot of it is
from the future generations, including I have two daughters, and
they are the ones who say, of course we should
do this. I mean, of course we should not be
doing the things that hurt the world. I mean, why
(22:18):
shouldn't we, I mean hurting the ocean, eating fish, you know, No,
I mean that's wrong. I mean, just do the right thing.
So for them, they don't have to unlearn and relearn, right,
they just pick up the right thing and they this
is what they do this and they will be doing
(22:38):
this the rest of their lives. So that gives me
a lot of hope that now, of course, I hope
we don't have to wait twenty thirty years. But indeed
that changed, particularly among young people. Now. When the young
people decide to do this, it also influenced their parents, right,
(23:00):
So again I also have plenty of stories of parents
who you know, have kids in the in the uatins
and they now are eating more plants based because of
their kids. I mean, they may not be doing it voluntarily,
but now almost like you know, it's like semi you know,
you know, either convinced or not convinced by their kids,
(23:23):
but they just have to do it at home because
kids ask for this so, but ultimately it transformed the
whole household, the whole family. So a lot of these
stories add up, and then you realize that actually a
lot of change has happened, even just within the last
(23:45):
three to five years. And then I mean from the
corporate world, I mean besides the households and the individuals.
In the corporate world, the last two years is very
obvious that every company is now stressing on They really
put a lot of emphasis on, you know, environmental and
social governance, and many CEOs of Global fortune five hundred
(24:10):
companies are now pledging that zero. Now, I must say,
some feel like greenwashing. I mean they when you try
to dig deeper, I mean there is no action plan.
So there is you know, there is a certain percentage
that is indeed green washing, But there are also a
(24:34):
lot who are genuinely trying to come up with solutions
and innovations to move the needle. So yeah, I think
from the corporate level, from the family individual level, and
then of course ultimately is from the government leadership level.
We let's hope these forces converge and we can act
(24:56):
quick enough. The model of Green Monday Group is make
change happen, make green common those six words, and change
ultimately comes from inside, right. I mean, when someone decides
to go vegan, it is because they have the inner motivation,
(25:16):
and that motivation is because of compassion, because of you know,
care for the planet, you name them. But at the end,
there's an inner motivation, right, And inner motivation comes from
some kind of enlightenment, some kind of awakening.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
So for me.
Speaker 4 (25:32):
That will always be That is and will always be
the fundamental thing that motivates me the most is how
to touch people's inner value, How to plant a seed,
even if it doesn't, you know, create change, like instantly
(25:53):
plants the seed. You just never know maybe five years
later or five months later, know it creates that moment
for them and they say, oh, you know what, I
should not be eating fish. I should not be eating
you know, animals.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
Is there anything you wanted to talk about that I
didn't ask you about before we finished?
Speaker 4 (26:13):
No, I mean, I guess the only thing I want
to say is I have always appreciate you know vest News.
I think, you know, what a great platform, and now
what an important platform to spread the news. So I
always always a pleasure to hear from Colleen or anyone
from vege News and thanks to everyone you know, including
(26:34):
you know yourself, for all the great work.
Speaker 5 (26:38):
So I will pass that along to the team at
veg News and again, thank you so much. This is wonderful.
Thanks to your team too, and all right, thank you again.
Speaker 3 (26:54):
So I know I'm not alone in being super busy,
and when dinner comes around, it can be exus Austin
to even think about cooking, but I am very good
at ordering Chinese food. Here to give us his best
tips on easy weeknight meals we can all master, no
matter how good of a cook we consider ourselves, and
(27:15):
I don't particularly consider myself a very good one. Is
veg News is food editor Eddie Garza. Welcome back to
the veg News podcast.
Speaker 5 (27:24):
Eddie. Thank you, Jasmine.
Speaker 6 (27:26):
It's so amazing to be here with you as always.
Speaker 3 (27:29):
Yeah, I love talking to you. And I think you
just heard me admit that I'm much better at ordering
food than at making it. I lived in New York
City for seventeen years. I got very very good at
calling other people to deliver food to me. But I'm
not in New York City anymore, and I really am
eager to get some tips from you. So given your
(27:52):
busy cooking and filming schedule. How do you do it?
Speaker 5 (27:55):
Like, what are some easy vegan meals that you like
to whip.
Speaker 3 (27:59):
Up for yourself when you're adorable husband when you're at home.
Speaker 6 (28:02):
Oh, thank you so much for acknowledging how adorable my husband,
Evan is. It really is adorable and wonderful. And that's
why every morning or even after a very busy day
in the kitchen or on set, I do love to
prepare a nice hot meal for us to share because
it's something that I chair is just our time together.
Whether it's busy day for him or busy day for me,
(28:24):
we always just want to have that small moment to
ourselves and food is what brings us together. And the
good thing is that doesn't have to take a long
time or be very labor intensive.
Speaker 3 (28:33):
Okay, I really want to know what you're talking about here,
because I also have these same desires to have that
sort of intimate evening time with my partner where we're
sharing a meal. But meal time comes, I just worked
the whole day. We're tired, So give us some tips.
Speaker 6 (28:49):
Yeah. Well, one of the things that helps us to
keep a nice hot meal together that's varied and yummy.
Is that I do a lot of meal prep and
if you come to my house, you'll see that I
have these pressure cookers. I've got a few of them
where I do a lot of prep foods that don't
take me a long time. I literally just put it
in the pressure cooker, add water, set it, and forget it.
(29:11):
So things like pre cooked grains or pseudo grains like
rice and quinoa, different types of legumes like black eyed
peas or red beans, which we always have, and even
my basic tofu scramble that I keep in the fridge
and the freezer, so once I'm running low in the fridge,
I take out the freezer section and then thought out
(29:33):
and then that makes it really easy to just put
things together. Also, I have a variety of salsas, different creams,
different cheese sauces, all of which make our meals really
easy to make. One of the things that we make
a lot is es Central American gyo bean, though my
husband'srom Nicadaua, so it's something he grew up eating and
it's a simple combination of red beans which are cooked
(29:53):
down and then that red hue from the beans gets
mixed with the rice. It paints the right, which is
called gayo beano. It's like painted. And then we make
a nice little, very easy cabbage slaw, which is three ingredients.
It's tomatoes, cabbage and carrots, and then you add a
little salt and vinegar. The whole meal comes together in
(30:14):
about twenty minutes, no time at all. It's super yummy.
But the other thing that I do is I like
to pre chop certain vegetables. So as soon as I
get some onions from the store, I just chop them up.
It's like, if I'm already gonna be washing it and
putting it away, might as well chop it store it
in a container. I do the same thing with my celery,
with carrots, things that you can easily saw tee. But
(30:36):
that's a great way to save time and also put
things together.
Speaker 4 (30:41):
You know.
Speaker 6 (30:41):
With that tofu scramble, I'll just whip up whatever, or
I'll just cook up whatever veggies already have chopped up,
and then add the tofa scramble which is already cooked.
That entire meal can take under ten minutes. It's really easy.
Speaker 5 (30:52):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (30:54):
I am a big tofu scramble fan. I before I
was vegan, I ate a lot of eggs, and I
really appreciate all of the egg analogs that are out
these days, you know, just egg being the queen of
all of them. But honestly, Tobu Scramble still does it
for me, and I'm inspired by the fact that you
make them in advance. These are really great ideas and
(31:14):
I absolutely took notes.
Speaker 5 (31:16):
But do you have any other.
Speaker 3 (31:17):
Tips for making some of these quick and easy meals
like varied and vibrant?
Speaker 5 (31:23):
Keep in mind that I am a beginner.
Speaker 3 (31:26):
I am not an Eddie Garza, so if you could
keep your tips beginner friendly, I and my wife would
both greatly appreciate it.
Speaker 7 (31:34):
Of course.
Speaker 6 (31:35):
Well, I'm always happy to offer suggestions, and for people
who don't like to do meal prep or don't have
that type of time, like I would still go to
those analogs like those plant based chicken nuggets that there
are so many in the market now, and they're so
easy to just put in the air fryer and then
you know, drizzle them with ketchup or mustard or whatever
you like. But also, if you want to keep more
(31:57):
of a whole foods plant based diet, definitely don't frown
on canned or jarred or even frozen veggies. I always
keep frozen peas, corn, and different types of grains on
hand in the freezer to add to my tofey scrambles,
to pastas, to rice and quinoa dishes. But also I
can't live without my canned tomatoes because I make all
these sauces that are super easy to make with just
(32:20):
things in the can. Can chipotlece, canned tomatoes, roasted red peppers,
things like that are going to make your meals so varied,
so easy. So have a well stocked pantry, get a
little bit more than salt and pepper in your spice rack,
and then you're going to have a really yummy, varied
and vibrant, budget friendly meal every single day of the week.
Speaker 3 (32:41):
Okay, that's actually really useful because I don't get to
the grocery store nearly enough for those fresh veggies, so
I need to remember that canned and frozen can be
just as good and even easier than the fresh variety. Eddie,
I am so into all of your advice. You make
everything seem so easy, and I think that it's worth remembering.
I've been vegan for eighteen years and I'm still learning.
Speaker 5 (33:04):
How to cook sometimes.
Speaker 4 (33:06):
So.
Speaker 3 (33:06):
You know, the great thing about being vegan is you
don't have to be a great cook like me. I
am a very healthy and happy individual even if I
have to order in, But you are making me want
to elevate my time in the kitchen. So before you go,
just real quick question. I know you love smoothies. I
(33:27):
also love smoothies. I love my vitamins almost as much
as my air fryer. So what are some of your
go to smoothies?
Speaker 6 (33:35):
Oh, my gosh, jasmine smoothies. Did you really have to
bring that up now? Now I'm craving ice cream and
craving smoothie. I'm craving totally scream I'm craving everything right now.
But my favorite smoothies are always going to be very tropical.
You know, I grew up in a place that there
was a lot of tropical food available. So it's always
going to have mango, it's always going to have papaya,
and it's always going to have some sort of green
(33:57):
that I implement to every smoothie, but a tropical smoothie.
Right now, I'm craving something with pineapple too. My gosh,
I can't wait till the Farmer's market opens.
Speaker 3 (34:07):
You know, maybe we should do a whole segment on
smoothies because I bet you have a lot to say about.
Speaker 6 (34:11):
It and my goodness.
Speaker 4 (34:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (34:13):
In fact, my husband Yvon used to always have like
the smoothie photos on his Instagram and every day he
would want me to make a different type of smoothie
for his Instagram page.
Speaker 4 (34:23):
I love that, so it was always fun.
Speaker 6 (34:26):
And you know, it's so easy to be creative with
smoothies because there are so many different types of fruits
that you can find at the grocery store, especially here
in California, everything is available to us. So let's do
a smoothie episode.
Speaker 3 (34:38):
I can even make smoothie, so I want to do
the smoothie segment. So definitely come back for that, Eddie.
Thank you so much. As always, I'm leaving hungry. As always,
I appreciate you.
Speaker 6 (34:48):
Thank you so much, Jasmine, talk to you soon.
Speaker 3 (34:59):
The veg News this podcast hotline is open for business.
Ask your questions by giving us a call at eight
eight eight nine to one Vegan. This question comes from
Jackie in Los Angeles.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
What's your go to V and latte order at Starbucks?
Speaker 3 (35:14):
I definitely need some knee ordering ideas. Thank you well, Jackie,
You've come to the right place. While I've been cutting
way back on coffee thanks to Mudwater, I must admit
that it is still one of my true loves. And
in addition to my Mudwater, I must say that Starbucks
is around the corner for me. It happens to be
(35:36):
one of the unionized Starbucks, so I love going there
and my favorite order there it's still just a plain
old ice latte with soy milk. They do have a
variety of plant milks available, including oat, soy, almond, and coconut.
They've really come a long way since just the soy days,
but they do, unfortunately, oh still have a surcharge for
(35:57):
these milks in the US, which I really want them
to reconsider soon Starbucks exacts. Since I'm sure you listen
to the veg News podcast. And on a side note,
I recently discovered that oat milk is apparently the only
milk out there that doesn't alter the flavor of the
actual coffee when added to the beverage. Isn't that nuts?
(36:18):
So if you're looking to experience a coffee's true flavor,
order oat milk and let all of your friends who
think they're coffee connoisseurs but are still ordering dairy milk.
Know that they're doing it all wrong, all wrong. Okay, anyway,
back to Starbucks, try an iced mocha for a chocolatey
twist to the standard ice latte. Also, you could try
(36:40):
an iced blonde vanilla latte or an iced shaken espresso.
The shaken espresso can also be made in flavored varieties,
including toasted vanilla, oat milk, brown sugar oat milk, or
chocolate almond milk. And try the newish oleato that's made
with olive oil. I know it sounds total bananas, but
(37:01):
give it a go. Order the Oliata iced shaken Espresso
with oat milk and toffee nut. I'm not sure if
all locations offer the olive oil, but if you come
visit me, then you can go to my favorite one
with me. Make sure to ask at your local Starbucks,
which is a lot less creepy than coming with me. Anyway,
if you're feeling really adventurous, you can check out the
(37:22):
other iced beverages that aren't coffee based. They really have
a lot. They have lemonades, they have teas, and of
course now is the perfect time to grab a pink
drink on your way to the theater to see the Barbie movie,
which I have seen and I recommend. I hope this
helps with your next order, Jackie. Be sure to check
out VegNews dot com slash Starbucks for all of our
(37:45):
guides to ordering vegan drinks at the coffee chain. You
better believe I have that open in front of me
whenever I'm there. We've got guides to ten vegan summer frappuccinos,
the Essential Guide to Holiday drinks in case you're listening
to this closer to the holidays, in which case, Happy Christmahan,
a Solsta Kwanzica, kid friendly drinks, a general ordering guide,
(38:07):
and a whole lot more so. Again, that's VegNews dot
Com slash Starbucks, Happy Caffeinating. Give us a call at
eight eight eight nine to one Vegan to get your
vegan question answered. That's eight eight eight nine to one
v e ga n Let's check in with veg News
publisher Colleen Holland to hear the latest on all of
(38:28):
the exciting things happening at veg News.
Speaker 5 (38:30):
HQ.
Speaker 3 (38:31):
Hi, Colleen, tell us what's going on this week at
veg News.
Speaker 2 (38:35):
Hey, Jasmine, it's so great to be back on the
Vegus podcast. I know a lot of our listeners are
thinking about travel. It's the peak of summer and everyone
wants to get away, so I wanted to remind everyone
about veg News vacations. So since twenty ten, we've been
taking readers around the world to countries like India, Thailand.
(38:58):
We've gone to Paris, Bali, even Mexico. We do an
annual Vegan yoga retreat in Mexico. We've gone on dozens
of trips and hosted hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of readers.
They are such great getaways, they're truly vacations of a lifetime,
and our team does it all. We find the best
of the best food in all of these destinations and
(39:21):
take our readers there.
Speaker 7 (39:22):
They are so fantastic. We also visit.
Speaker 2 (39:25):
The top sites to see we meet locals, We stay
at fabulous in fabulous accommodations.
Speaker 7 (39:32):
It's just really, really excellent. And this year we're going
to Thailand. We're actually going to Thailand twice.
Speaker 2 (39:39):
We're going in October for the annual j Festival, which
is They're all Vegan festival. It's a Taois celebration and
much of the country goes vegan for our week. It's
an amazing time to visit Thailand.
Speaker 7 (39:52):
We do all the work, we put together the best.
Speaker 2 (39:55):
Itinerary and you will have the best food of your life.
And then we're going to Thailand a second time for
our Christmas and Thailand trip, which our readers love it
so much because they get to spend Christmas.
Speaker 7 (40:08):
And New Year's in Thailand.
Speaker 2 (40:09):
We have huge holiday feasts to celebrate those holidays, We
visit all the sites, we just eat our way through
the country. We soak in the warm tropical weather during
those you know, late December or early January, and it's.
Speaker 7 (40:25):
Just such a good time.
Speaker 2 (40:26):
So both trips are almost sold out, but we can
still squeeze a few folks in, so head on over
to beches dot com slash vacations for more details. Again
beches dot com slash vacations, and then we'll be announcing
our twenty twenty four trips very soon, so stay tuned
for that. We do several trips a year and they always.
Speaker 7 (40:48):
Sell out, and for good reason.
Speaker 2 (40:51):
These are such great getaways and many of our readers
travel with us again and again. So head over to
Vegues dot com slash bak and we hope to see
you in Thailand.
Speaker 3 (41:11):
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 in plant based news, recipes, taste tests, guides,
and so much more. And don't forget to subscribe to
(41:33):
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 Lori
Johnston for their work in the production of this podcast,
(41:53):
and a huge thank you to our wonderful podcast sponsor, Mudwater.
I'm your host, Jasmine Singer, and I'll see you next week.
Bye for now, mm hmm.
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):
Hi there, and welcome back to another edition of the
veg News podcast, brought to you by the wildly popular
coffee alternative Mudwater. I'm your host, Jasmine Singer, and this
week we will be talking with David Yang, co founder
of Green Monday, the startup behind vegan meat company Omnipork.
We'll also touch base with veg News Food editor Eddie Garza,
(00:47):
answer all of your burning questions from the veg News hotline,
and check in with publisher Colleen Holland on what's happening
this week at veg News. But first, it's time for
the headlines of the week. Each week we'll be sharing
our favorite stories. These are the ones we can't stop
talking about around the kombucha tap at veg News. Headline
(01:10):
number one, get Ready, Chicago, there's a giant vegan food
hall coming to the Windy City. The ex Market Vegan
Food Hall will house six restaurants, a coffee shop, a
wine and beer bar, and a grocery store with its
very own wait for it, vegan cheesemonger, all under one roof.
(01:32):
Scheduled to open shortly after Labor Day, the new concept
will be the biggest vegan food hall in the Midwest.
I'm booking my trip right now. Our second headline today.
Plant based diets aren't just a win for the animals,
they're also beneficial for human and planetary health. According to
a study from the University of Oxford, diets rich in
(01:55):
plant based foods reduced greenhouse gas emissions, land use, and
water pollution by seventy five percent compared to diets high
in meat. And At Harvard's THH Chan School of Public Health,
people following an environmentally sustainable diet of whole grains, fruit nuts,
non starchy vegetables, and unsaturated oils were found to live
(02:19):
twenty five percent longer. Well, that's extra time for me
to enjoy some chocolate layer cake sands the dairy. Well
cheers to that headline. Number three. Boxing legend Mike Tyson
cannot get enough vegan burgers. The fifty seven year old
athlete recently visited Trill Burgers, a new burger joint that
(02:41):
just opened in Houston, Texas, last month. Locals and celebrities
alike are already flocking to the restaurant for a taste
of its crispy smash burgers. But for Tyson, it's the
vegan burger that stands out. I love this made with
a juicy, impossible pass, vegan trill sauce, caramelized onions, pickles,
(03:04):
and follow your heart's vegan cheese. The vegan og combo
earned Tyson's seale of approval. It's beautiful, said the boxing
legend in between bites Mike, You're beautiful headline number four. Today,
the fishing industry is driving down shark populations and driving
up plastic pollution boom. According to a new study published
(03:28):
in the journal Science, the reef shark population has dropped
by sixty three percent and overfishing is to blame. Additionally,
according to a study published in the journal Nature, most
of the population in coral reefs can also be attributed
to fishing, and this pollution is not just at the
(03:48):
surface of the water, but actually increases with depth. This
suggests reef species are struggling to get away from the
human impact, regardless of how deep down the ocean and
they go. That's such a sad story there soon won't
be more fish in the sea. Our fifth at headline
good news watermelon aficionados. Oh good, because I needed good news.
(04:12):
This juicy fruit isn't just tasty, it's a valuable addition
to a healthy diet, according to a recent study published
in the journal Nutrients. The study found that those who
included watermelon in their diets had increased intake of essential
nutrients including fiber, magnesium, and vitamins A and C, among others. Plus,
(04:33):
watermelon eaters had lower intake levels of saturated fatty acids
and added sugars. I'll take a slice or five. That's
all of our top stories for this week. All our
headlines of the week will be linked in the show
notes at VegNews dot com slash podcast. Our guest this
(04:56):
week is David Yang, co founder of Green Monday, a
startup from Hong Kong that is focused on making sustainable
living easy through conscious investing, the plant based market sensation
Green Common, and vegan meat brand Omni Pork. We'll hear
from David right after this. I am very excited to
(05:25):
talk to you at veage News. We're big fans, so
I'm really really grateful to you and to your wonderful
team for agreeing to chat this morning or this evening.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
In my case, no, it is my pleasure.
Speaker 5 (05:40):
Okay, perfect, thank you.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
I would like to talk about the Green Common stores
because they are really truly incredible and so I'd love
if in your own words you can describe.
Speaker 5 (05:50):
What they are and what they sell.
Speaker 4 (05:54):
Well. Green Common to me is a one stop experience
and uh, to redefine what future food is all about.
When we when people read from the news, you know,
food tagged food innovation, so many exciting news at the
(06:14):
end of the day, we're talking about food, right and
food you need a place to showcase them, you need
a place to experience them, and you need a place
for people to hang out because dining is a social activity.
I mean, I'm not exactly talking about anything rocket science here.
So what that means is if there are so many
(06:38):
of these new age food innovation, you know, and pioneering
the world to a new way of eating, uh, it
is to me, it's just extremely important to have one
place that people can you know, first of all, you
got to make it convenient, you got to make it accessible,
you got to make it fun, you got to make
(06:59):
it cool and turn it into a lifestyle. At the
end of the day, you know, collectively, what we are
doing in terms of shifting people to plant space and
a more sustainable healthy eating is it is fundamentally changing
people's lifestyle. And just like how you know, drinking coffee
(07:21):
at Starbucks, right, I mean, or buying coffee at Starbucks.
You're not just buying the coffee. You know, it's the
third space as of course nowadays is the that's the
term that is calling right and green common is that
green space. So we're trying to create a new plant space,
green lifestyle and to attract more people into it. So
(07:46):
a lot of times and of course you asked me
what we sell, so all the green commons are a
combination of dining and shopping. Now, for most people who
have never try any of these products, dining in the
store or takeaway, I mean, it's kind of the lowest
barrier for them because you know, words come to worst.
(08:08):
You know, they have one meal that they may not like.
But of course, stopside is once you impress them, once
you wow them with that first meal, then you convert
them to become believers and they say, hey, you know
I can try these and cook these at home. So
that's that's the powerful combination of the dining shopping, putting
(08:32):
it together. And as you said, you know people can
I mean particularly the health lovers. I mean, this would
be the heaven like for vegans and health lovers, green commonness,
that heaven.
Speaker 5 (08:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
What sparked the idea originally for this concept back?
Speaker 4 (08:49):
You know, when I was a kid going to supermarket,
particularly after a while, it's just a four right, you know,
you get the things you need and then you go.
But when I walk into Whole Food's many years ago,
I mean I was like, wow, I mean this is
almost like a health food museum right now. Of course,
I mean Whole Foods contains meat and you know, seafood
(09:10):
and all that, but from kind of an organic and
health food lover standpoint, I mean I really I did
spend like hours in Whole Foods and you know, even
you know, reading the labels or learning these new brands
or sometimes it could be some unknown brand you know,
from just two farmers in New Hampshire, and you're like,
(09:32):
you know, you are inspired by them and you want
to support them. So that kind of plans the seed.
And I'm like, how come you know, the other supermarkets
in the world not like that, especially not in Asia.
I mean, such kind of health oriented kind of grocery
supermarket did not exist. Now Green Common. It really is
(09:55):
about creating that vibe and that trust. I think the
key word is the trust that when you walk in
Green Common and you want to try something green, try
something healthy, you know you know you're in a safe place.
You know that we curate these products for our customers,
(10:19):
and you know it was not a random process on
what we select and what we don't select.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
Well, speaking of what you select, I know that Green
Common was the first retailer to carry the Beyond Burger
outside of the US. Can you tell me a little
bit about what the reception was to the Beyond Burger
in Hong Kong.
Speaker 4 (10:39):
It was overwhelming. I mean there's no doubt. I mean,
Beyond Burger is a game change, is a game changer.
It revolutionized how people perceive vegetarian plant space, whatever name
you know people call it. But I remember one of
the scenes in the early days when Beyond Burger arrived
(11:04):
was when we had a table of like seven men,
I mean just seven men came to Green Common. It
wasn't like a mix of you know, men and women.
It was just seven men, and I mean now looking back,
it sounds funny, but back then it was almost like
a groundbreaker and they like seven people ordered the burger
(11:26):
and a vegan restaurant, right, Yeah. And then the other
one was just someone who told me afterwards that like
he ate it for like seven times and it wasn't
until the eighth time that he realized that we are
a vegan restaurant.
Speaker 5 (11:39):
What was it about the eighth time? I'm wondering. You
said that the Beyond Burger was revolutionary.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
What has been revolutionary that you've seen since the Beyond Burger?
Speaker 4 (11:55):
Well, I am very humble to say that Omni Homney
Park has been also a groundbreaking revolutionary products. Now, they
are revolutionary in different ways because Park is something that
Asian people just consume a lot. When it comes to meat.
(12:19):
Let's say in mainland China, sixty five percent of meat
or animal protein is Park like pop dominates the meat scene. Actually,
it really wasn't until like maybe because of fast food
and Western kind of influence into mainland China, and beef
(12:41):
was a very very tiny part of Chinese diet. Park
was absolutely was and still is absolutely dominating the plates
in terms of protein. So for whatever reason, I mean countries,
people in countries such as Korea, you know, such as Singapore.
(13:02):
You know, we Philippines, I mean, we have gotten this
addiction to lunch and meets. You know, sometimes it's on
ramen noodles, sometimes it may be in a sandwich or
on sushi. And like Japanese people, like people in Hawaii,
you know, I mean love the spam musubi. So yeah,
(13:24):
when we developed both, you know, omni polk and then
the Omni polp lunch and these were particularly when we
first launched. I mean, it definitely generated a lot of interest.
So it's revolutionary in different ways. And thanks to many entrepreneurs,
thanks to many scientists, and definitely thanks to a lot
(13:44):
of impact investors, the industry clearly is breaking through and
entering mainstream in a big way. And you know we
witnessed this, you know, up close and personal, just like
Betch News, right. I mean Colleen, I mean, Colleen is
like pioneer of pioneers. I mean, like every year when
(14:06):
we visit Expo West, I mean you can tell that
the number of plant based brands is exploding. And so yes, indeed,
we all pave the way for each other and for
us in Asia, I mean Green Monday, Green Common has
been very much the pioneer as well. Well.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
I appreciate that you're so receptive to where people are
and I see that reflected in the foods and the
brands that you're creating.
Speaker 5 (14:38):
And I know that at Green Monday.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
You encourage people to approach plant based eating by incorporating
a full day of vegan eating per week.
Speaker 5 (14:47):
Actually, is that you do still do that? Right?
Speaker 4 (14:50):
Absolutely well. Our work of advocating the movement of Green
Monday never stops. I mean, in fact, that is oftentimes
the door opener or the conversation open them.
Speaker 3 (15:02):
And so why would you say it's important to encourage
these smaller changes as opposed to eliminating all animal products overnight.
Speaker 4 (15:11):
Well, I mean some people, maybe particularly the people in
this audience, we may be the ones who you know,
have a deeper, profound resonance with the causes behind the shift.
So I mean twenty years ago, I just turned vegetarian
overnight and I never looked back. But for the general public,
(15:38):
most people, in terms of behavior shift, do not act
that way. You know, you just don't go from someone
who never exercised to become like a full marathon runner
or professional athlete. Right, There's always a gradual process, and
in fact, that is how most of the big social
(15:58):
change happens. I mean, and then once you accumulate a
critical mass, that's when the tipping point takes place. So
to me, Green Monday is we are first of all,
lowering the barrier of adoption. I mean no one. I mean,
we're just saying, hey, one day a week, right, Okay,
(16:18):
if you cannot even do one day, do one meal, right,
one meal out of twenty one meals the week. Come on,
you know, Okay, okay, if you still cannot do one meal,
let's cut certain meats first, you know, cut red meats.
Let's say right. I mean, so Green Monday basically is
creating a platform that people cannot say no to.
Speaker 5 (16:41):
What's your big vision?
Speaker 3 (16:43):
I know that you said you don't have a crystal ball,
but if you did, and if you're looking into you know,
the world in fifty years from now, where does all
of this fit in for you on a worldview level?
Speaker 4 (16:59):
Well, we nowadays because of climate change, I mean, frankly,
we all I think fifty years too far. I mean,
we fifteen years maybe is a more realistic time horizon.
We have no choice, every human being on the planet.
(17:23):
We actually we should all ask ourselves back questions is
where will the world be in ten to fifteen, twenty years?
How will our world look like? And just spend like
five minutes, I mean even for the most unclimate knowledgeable people,
just spend five minutes to look at all the forecasts
(17:46):
from the scientists and from the facts. Right, Actually, you
don't even have to be a scientist. Just sometimes look
at the news, you know where everywhere in the world
on any given day or week there are extreme drought, heat,
you know, flooding, snow, you name them. Storm. So actually,
(18:12):
there are plenty of reports who say that we are
in the last decade of hopefully containing the damage of
climate so that we don't get to the point of
no return. So once we have that macro world view,
then we work back and say, you know, what do
(18:33):
we need to do now? So whether you are someone
who are you know, working a corporate, you work in
a government, uh you obviously we all are part of
a household or a family, you know, just individually and
collectively we have to act and that goes beyond food.
(18:54):
That that that is that applies to everything. So you know,
this is not just a question to you know, David Young,
founder of Green Monday, this should be a question to
every person on the planet.
Speaker 3 (19:08):
So we looked in the future. Let's go back in
time a little bit. You mentioned before that you went
vegetarian overnight twenty years ago.
Speaker 4 (19:17):
So it was it was two thousand and one and
I started. I started on New Year, or to be exact,
it was Chinese New Year, so I yeah, I made
the decision in December. I remember, and you know, I
was never a big meets either growing up. When my
(19:42):
mom took me to wet markets in Hong Kong, and
you know, I witnessed, you know, kind of the butchers
and then the seafood stall and all that. It was
actually quite a traumatic experience for me. Actually, a lot
of things were. I mean, I had those kind of
(20:03):
intermediate moments that just guide me to the point that
by the time I turned obvious, I turned adults and
I became an adult, and in that was in yeah,
two thousand and one, I decided eating meat was not
my thing anymore. So I turned and I just chose
(20:25):
a date because it was so near a year at
year end, I said I would just start this on
this new chapter on a new date, and it was
Chinese New of two thousand and one.
Speaker 3 (20:36):
You have a very positive, can do attitude and a
very sunny disposition.
Speaker 5 (20:43):
Can you talk a little bit about that for a moment,
like what gives you hope?
Speaker 4 (20:49):
Well, what gives me hope? So again another story, and
this came over the weekend. A friend's friend told my
friend who told me that their their household, the kids
now they're eating the vegan nuggets that they buy from
(21:11):
Green Common and the kids because that's the nugget they
grow up eating. I mean, after now two or three years,
this becomes the nugget that they eat. They would not
they would no longer eat you know, chicken nuggets. And
they obviously become, you know, frequent customers of ours. But
(21:33):
my point is not because they're frequent customers. My point
is they become regular, plant spaceed eating plant based, become
the regular for their family and for their kids probably
seventy eight. Now again, of course that's just one family,
but there are many, many of these stories, and that
(21:57):
gives me hope. It indeed a lot of it is
from the future generations, including I have two daughters, and
they are the ones who say, of course we should
do this. I mean, of course we should not be
doing the things that hurt the world. I mean, why
(22:18):
shouldn't we, I mean hurting the ocean, eating fish, you know, No,
I mean that's wrong. I mean, just do the right thing.
So for them, they don't have to unlearn and relearn, right,
they just pick up the right thing and they this
is what they do this and they will be doing
(22:38):
this the rest of their lives. So that gives me
a lot of hope that now, of course, I hope
we don't have to wait twenty thirty years. But indeed
that changed, particularly among young people. Now. When the young
people decide to do this, it also influenced their parents, right,
(23:00):
So again I also have plenty of stories of parents
who you know, have kids in the in the uatins
and they now are eating more plants based because of
their kids. I mean, they may not be doing it voluntarily,
but now almost like you know, it's like semi you know,
you know, either convinced or not convinced by their kids,
(23:23):
but they just have to do it at home because
kids ask for this so, but ultimately it transformed the
whole household, the whole family. So a lot of these
stories add up, and then you realize that actually a
lot of change has happened, even just within the last
(23:45):
three to five years. And then I mean from the
corporate world, I mean besides the households and the individuals.
In the corporate world, the last two years is very
obvious that every company is now stressing on They really
put a lot of emphasis on, you know, environmental and
social governance, and many CEOs of Global fortune five hundred
(24:10):
companies are now pledging that zero. Now, I must say,
some feel like greenwashing. I mean they when you try
to dig deeper, I mean there is no action plan.
So there is you know, there is a certain percentage
that is indeed green washing, But there are also a
(24:34):
lot who are genuinely trying to come up with solutions
and innovations to move the needle. So yeah, I think
from the corporate level, from the family individual level, and
then of course ultimately is from the government leadership level.
We let's hope these forces converge and we can act
(24:56):
quick enough. The model of Green Monday Group is make
change happen, make green common those six words, and change
ultimately comes from inside, right. I mean, when someone decides
to go vegan, it is because they have the inner motivation,
(25:16):
and that motivation is because of compassion, because of you know,
care for the planet, you name them. But at the end,
there's an inner motivation, right, And inner motivation comes from
some kind of enlightenment, some kind of awakening.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
So for me.
Speaker 4 (25:32):
That will always be That is and will always be
the fundamental thing that motivates me the most is how
to touch people's inner value, How to plant a seed,
even if it doesn't, you know, create change, like instantly
(25:53):
plants the seed. You just never know maybe five years
later or five months later, know it creates that moment
for them and they say, oh, you know what, I
should not be eating fish. I should not be eating
you know, animals.
Speaker 3 (26:08):
Is there anything you wanted to talk about that I
didn't ask you about before we finished?
Speaker 4 (26:13):
No, I mean, I guess the only thing I want
to say is I have always appreciate you know vest News.
I think, you know, what a great platform, and now
what an important platform to spread the news. So I
always always a pleasure to hear from Colleen or anyone
from vege News and thanks to everyone you know, including
(26:34):
you know yourself, for all the great work.
Speaker 5 (26:38):
So I will pass that along to the team at
veg News and again, thank you so much. This is wonderful.
Thanks to your team too, and all right, thank you again.
Speaker 3 (26:54):
So I know I'm not alone in being super busy,
and when dinner comes around, it can be exus Austin
to even think about cooking, but I am very good
at ordering Chinese food. Here to give us his best
tips on easy weeknight meals we can all master, no
matter how good of a cook we consider ourselves, and
(27:15):
I don't particularly consider myself a very good one. Is
veg News is food editor Eddie Garza. Welcome back to
the veg News podcast.
Speaker 5 (27:24):
Eddie. Thank you, Jasmine.
Speaker 6 (27:26):
It's so amazing to be here with you as always.
Speaker 3 (27:29):
Yeah, I love talking to you. And I think you
just heard me admit that I'm much better at ordering
food than at making it. I lived in New York
City for seventeen years. I got very very good at
calling other people to deliver food to me. But I'm
not in New York City anymore, and I really am
eager to get some tips from you. So given your
(27:52):
busy cooking and filming schedule. How do you do it?
Speaker 5 (27:55):
Like, what are some easy vegan meals that you like
to whip.
Speaker 3 (27:59):
Up for yourself when you're adorable husband when you're at home.
Speaker 6 (28:02):
Oh, thank you so much for acknowledging how adorable my husband,
Evan is. It really is adorable and wonderful. And that's
why every morning or even after a very busy day
in the kitchen or on set, I do love to
prepare a nice hot meal for us to share because
it's something that I chair is just our time together.
Whether it's busy day for him or busy day for me,
(28:24):
we always just want to have that small moment to
ourselves and food is what brings us together. And the
good thing is that doesn't have to take a long
time or be very labor intensive.
Speaker 3 (28:33):
Okay, I really want to know what you're talking about here,
because I also have these same desires to have that
sort of intimate evening time with my partner where we're
sharing a meal. But meal time comes, I just worked
the whole day. We're tired, So give us some tips.
Speaker 6 (28:49):
Yeah. Well, one of the things that helps us to
keep a nice hot meal together that's varied and yummy.
Is that I do a lot of meal prep and
if you come to my house, you'll see that I
have these pressure cookers. I've got a few of them
where I do a lot of prep foods that don't
take me a long time. I literally just put it
in the pressure cooker, add water, set it, and forget it.
(29:11):
So things like pre cooked grains or pseudo grains like
rice and quinoa, different types of legumes like black eyed
peas or red beans, which we always have, and even
my basic tofu scramble that I keep in the fridge
and the freezer, so once I'm running low in the fridge,
I take out the freezer section and then thought out
(29:33):
and then that makes it really easy to just put
things together. Also, I have a variety of salsas, different creams,
different cheese sauces, all of which make our meals really
easy to make. One of the things that we make
a lot is es Central American gyo bean, though my
husband'srom Nicadaua, so it's something he grew up eating and
it's a simple combination of red beans which are cooked
(29:53):
down and then that red hue from the beans gets
mixed with the rice. It paints the right, which is
called gayo beano. It's like painted. And then we make
a nice little, very easy cabbage slaw, which is three ingredients.
It's tomatoes, cabbage and carrots, and then you add a
little salt and vinegar. The whole meal comes together in
(30:14):
about twenty minutes, no time at all. It's super yummy.
But the other thing that I do is I like
to pre chop certain vegetables. So as soon as I
get some onions from the store, I just chop them up.
It's like, if I'm already gonna be washing it and
putting it away, might as well chop it store it
in a container. I do the same thing with my celery,
with carrots, things that you can easily saw tee. But
(30:36):
that's a great way to save time and also put
things together.
Speaker 4 (30:41):
You know.
Speaker 6 (30:41):
With that tofu scramble, I'll just whip up whatever, or
I'll just cook up whatever veggies already have chopped up,
and then add the tofa scramble which is already cooked.
That entire meal can take under ten minutes. It's really easy.
Speaker 5 (30:52):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (30:54):
I am a big tofu scramble fan. I before I
was vegan, I ate a lot of eggs, and I
really appreciate all of the egg analogs that are out
these days, you know, just egg being the queen of
all of them. But honestly, Tobu Scramble still does it
for me, and I'm inspired by the fact that you
make them in advance. These are really great ideas and
(31:14):
I absolutely took notes.
Speaker 5 (31:16):
But do you have any other.
Speaker 3 (31:17):
Tips for making some of these quick and easy meals
like varied and vibrant?
Speaker 5 (31:23):
Keep in mind that I am a beginner.
Speaker 3 (31:26):
I am not an Eddie Garza, so if you could
keep your tips beginner friendly, I and my wife would
both greatly appreciate it.
Speaker 7 (31:34):
Of course.
Speaker 6 (31:35):
Well, I'm always happy to offer suggestions, and for people
who don't like to do meal prep or don't have
that type of time, like I would still go to
those analogs like those plant based chicken nuggets that there
are so many in the market now, and they're so
easy to just put in the air fryer and then
you know, drizzle them with ketchup or mustard or whatever
you like. But also, if you want to keep more
(31:57):
of a whole foods plant based diet, definitely don't frown
on canned or jarred or even frozen veggies. I always
keep frozen peas, corn, and different types of grains on
hand in the freezer to add to my tofey scrambles,
to pastas, to rice and quinoa dishes. But also I
can't live without my canned tomatoes because I make all
these sauces that are super easy to make with just
(32:20):
things in the can. Can chipotlece, canned tomatoes, roasted red peppers,
things like that are going to make your meals so varied,
so easy. So have a well stocked pantry, get a
little bit more than salt and pepper in your spice rack,
and then you're going to have a really yummy, varied
and vibrant, budget friendly meal every single day of the week.
Speaker 3 (32:41):
Okay, that's actually really useful because I don't get to
the grocery store nearly enough for those fresh veggies, so
I need to remember that canned and frozen can be
just as good and even easier than the fresh variety. Eddie,
I am so into all of your advice. You make
everything seem so easy, and I think that it's worth remembering.
I've been vegan for eighteen years and I'm still learning.
Speaker 5 (33:04):
How to cook sometimes.
Speaker 4 (33:06):
So.
Speaker 3 (33:06):
You know, the great thing about being vegan is you
don't have to be a great cook like me. I
am a very healthy and happy individual even if I
have to order in, But you are making me want
to elevate my time in the kitchen. So before you go,
just real quick question. I know you love smoothies. I
(33:27):
also love smoothies. I love my vitamins almost as much
as my air fryer. So what are some of your
go to smoothies?
Speaker 6 (33:35):
Oh, my gosh, jasmine smoothies. Did you really have to
bring that up now? Now I'm craving ice cream and
craving smoothie. I'm craving totally scream I'm craving everything right now.
But my favorite smoothies are always going to be very tropical.
You know, I grew up in a place that there
was a lot of tropical food available. So it's always
going to have mango, it's always going to have papaya,
and it's always going to have some sort of green
(33:57):
that I implement to every smoothie, but a tropical smoothie.
Right now, I'm craving something with pineapple too. My gosh,
I can't wait till the Farmer's market opens.
Speaker 3 (34:07):
You know, maybe we should do a whole segment on
smoothies because I bet you have a lot to say about.
Speaker 6 (34:11):
It and my goodness.
Speaker 4 (34:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (34:13):
In fact, my husband Yvon used to always have like
the smoothie photos on his Instagram and every day he
would want me to make a different type of smoothie
for his Instagram page.
Speaker 4 (34:23):
I love that, so it was always fun.
Speaker 6 (34:26):
And you know, it's so easy to be creative with
smoothies because there are so many different types of fruits
that you can find at the grocery store, especially here
in California, everything is available to us. So let's do
a smoothie episode.
Speaker 3 (34:38):
I can even make smoothie, so I want to do
the smoothie segment. So definitely come back for that, Eddie.
Thank you so much. As always, I'm leaving hungry. As always,
I appreciate you.
Speaker 6 (34:48):
Thank you so much, Jasmine, talk to you soon.
Speaker 3 (34:59):
The veg News this podcast hotline is open for business.
Ask your questions by giving us a call at eight
eight eight nine to one Vegan. This question comes from
Jackie in Los Angeles.
Speaker 2 (35:11):
What's your go to V and latte order at Starbucks?
Speaker 3 (35:14):
I definitely need some knee ordering ideas. Thank you well, Jackie,
You've come to the right place. While I've been cutting
way back on coffee thanks to Mudwater, I must admit
that it is still one of my true loves. And
in addition to my Mudwater, I must say that Starbucks
is around the corner for me. It happens to be
(35:36):
one of the unionized Starbucks, so I love going there
and my favorite order there it's still just a plain
old ice latte with soy milk. They do have a
variety of plant milks available, including oat, soy, almond, and coconut.
They've really come a long way since just the soy days,
but they do, unfortunately, oh still have a surcharge for
(35:57):
these milks in the US, which I really want them
to reconsider soon Starbucks exacts. Since I'm sure you listen
to the veg News podcast. And on a side note,
I recently discovered that oat milk is apparently the only
milk out there that doesn't alter the flavor of the
actual coffee when added to the beverage. Isn't that nuts?
(36:18):
So if you're looking to experience a coffee's true flavor,
order oat milk and let all of your friends who
think they're coffee connoisseurs but are still ordering dairy milk.
Know that they're doing it all wrong, all wrong. Okay, anyway,
back to Starbucks, try an iced mocha for a chocolatey
twist to the standard ice latte. Also, you could try
(36:40):
an iced blonde vanilla latte or an iced shaken espresso.
The shaken espresso can also be made in flavored varieties,
including toasted vanilla, oat milk, brown sugar oat milk, or
chocolate almond milk. And try the newish oleato that's made
with olive oil. I know it sounds total bananas, but
(37:01):
give it a go. Order the Oliata iced shaken Espresso
with oat milk and toffee nut. I'm not sure if
all locations offer the olive oil, but if you come
visit me, then you can go to my favorite one
with me. Make sure to ask at your local Starbucks,
which is a lot less creepy than coming with me. Anyway,
if you're feeling really adventurous, you can check out the
(37:22):
other iced beverages that aren't coffee based. They really have
a lot. They have lemonades, they have teas, and of
course now is the perfect time to grab a pink
drink on your way to the theater to see the Barbie movie,
which I have seen and I recommend. I hope this
helps with your next order, Jackie. Be sure to check
out VegNews dot com slash Starbucks for all of our
(37:45):
guides to ordering vegan drinks at the coffee chain. You
better believe I have that open in front of me
whenever I'm there. We've got guides to ten vegan summer frappuccinos,
the Essential Guide to Holiday drinks in case you're listening
to this closer to the holidays, in which case, Happy Christmahan,
a Solsta Kwanzica, kid friendly drinks, a general ordering guide,
(38:07):
and a whole lot more so. Again, that's VegNews dot
Com slash Starbucks, Happy Caffeinating. Give us a call at
eight eight eight nine to one Vegan to get your
vegan question answered. That's eight eight eight nine to one
v e ga n Let's check in with veg News
publisher Colleen Holland to hear the latest on all of
(38:28):
the exciting things happening at veg News.
Speaker 5 (38:30):
HQ.
Speaker 3 (38:31):
Hi, Colleen, tell us what's going on this week at
veg News.
Speaker 2 (38:35):
Hey, Jasmine, it's so great to be back on the
Vegus podcast. I know a lot of our listeners are
thinking about travel. It's the peak of summer and everyone
wants to get away, so I wanted to remind everyone
about veg News vacations. So since twenty ten, we've been
taking readers around the world to countries like India, Thailand.
(38:58):
We've gone to Paris, Bali, even Mexico. We do an
annual Vegan yoga retreat in Mexico. We've gone on dozens
of trips and hosted hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of readers.
They are such great getaways, they're truly vacations of a lifetime,
and our team does it all. We find the best
of the best food in all of these destinations and
(39:21):
take our readers there.
Speaker 7 (39:22):
They are so fantastic. We also visit.
Speaker 2 (39:25):
The top sites to see we meet locals, We stay
at fabulous in fabulous accommodations.
Speaker 7 (39:32):
It's just really, really excellent. And this year we're going
to Thailand. We're actually going to Thailand twice.
Speaker 2 (39:39):
We're going in October for the annual j Festival, which
is They're all Vegan festival. It's a Taois celebration and
much of the country goes vegan for our week. It's
an amazing time to visit Thailand.
Speaker 7 (39:52):
We do all the work, we put together the best.
Speaker 2 (39:55):
Itinerary and you will have the best food of your life.
And then we're going to Thailand a second time for
our Christmas and Thailand trip, which our readers love it
so much because they get to spend Christmas.
Speaker 7 (40:08):
And New Year's in Thailand.
Speaker 2 (40:09):
We have huge holiday feasts to celebrate those holidays, We
visit all the sites, we just eat our way through
the country. We soak in the warm tropical weather during
those you know, late December or early January, and it's.
Speaker 7 (40:25):
Just such a good time.
Speaker 2 (40:26):
So both trips are almost sold out, but we can
still squeeze a few folks in, so head on over
to beches dot com slash vacations for more details. Again
beches dot com slash vacations, and then we'll be announcing
our twenty twenty four trips very soon, so stay tuned
for that. We do several trips a year and they always.
Speaker 7 (40:48):
Sell out, and for good reason.
Speaker 2 (40:51):
These are such great getaways and many of our readers
travel with us again and again. So head over to
Vegues dot com slash bak and we hope to see
you in Thailand.
Speaker 3 (41:11):
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 in plant based news, recipes, taste tests, guides,
and so much more. And don't forget to subscribe to
(41:33):
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 Lori
Johnston for their work in the production of this podcast,
(41:53):
and a huge thank you to our wonderful podcast sponsor, Mudwater.
I'm your host, Jasmine Singer, and I'll see you next week.
Bye for now, mm hmm.
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