Chef Mayra “Great Vegan General Information:”
- I Can’t Believe It’s Vegan — A list of mainstream foods that are vegan and easily found in most grocery stores compiled by PETA. It’s by no means comprehensive, but these are things that won’t have “Vegan” stamped anywhere on the packaging.
- Barnivore.com — This site will tell you if your booze is vegan.
- Vegan Wine Guide — Provides a list of vegan wines.
- Epicurious offers an interactive Peak-Season Map. Click on your state to see what’s in season.
- Farmers Market Database. You can plug in your city and find the farmers markets in your area.
- Animal By-Products and Their Alternatives — A list of the more common animal by-products you’ll find, as compiled by PETA.
It’s the holiday season. Chef Mayra is busy in the Kitchen trying to bake things. Holiday greeting cards have yet to be written out. And it’s already December 11 th!!! We’ve received a few emails asking for ideas for gifts for vegans. This is what Chef Mayra come up with…
This year, as like many of you, we’re scaling back a bit, so we really want to make sure our gifts are “successful.” The kitchen figure you might be in the same boat, so Chef Mayra’s post ideas is dedicated to the things we love and wouldn’t want to live without, and the things we’d feel good about giving. Here they are, in no particular order.
Chef Mayra Vegan Home Kitchen Essentials:
The Kitchen bought us a Soyabella Milk Maker (Note: makes a great gift for any Holiday or occasion)
This may be the single best thing that’s come our way since going vegan. I have a cup of homemade almond milk every single morning in my breakfast smoothie. It has more than paid for itself by now (okay, we didn’t pay for it, but you know what I mean).
Chef Mayra adores household or NSF commercial KitchenAid Stand Mixer. This Mixers last a LONG time this could be a great gift for anyone.
Another must have as far as the Kitchen concerned, is an Immersion Blender. This tool is essential for making any kind of “cream of” (pureed) soup. Instead of having to divide the soup in batches in order to puree it in the blender or food processor, you can simply bring the blender to the pot. It’s so much easier! You can also use it to make small batches of shakes right in the glass you plan on using.
The Kitchen Suggests for a great food processor KitchenAid Wide Mouth Food Processor. This product has a wider feed tube so you do not have to keep taking off the lid. Great review by the Kitchen staff “ very happy with this product”.
Another must have for any baker is a Nonstick Baking Mat. Why bother with the mess of having to grease pans, or the waste of parchment paper…
The Kitchen is always working more frequently with recipes which state quantities in grams as opposed to cup measurements. Rather than go online for conversions, Chef Mayra has been using a Kitchen Scale. She feels the measurements are much more specific that way. After all, how often do you get an exact cup of flour… and if it’s sifted you may get more or less; a weighted measure takes care of that problem. The Kitchen even gotten use out of the scale, measuring envelopes to ensure adequate
Vegan Reference:
Becoming Vegan: The Complete Guide to Adopting a Healthy Plant-Based Diet
The title says it all. This book was very helpful to us.
.Well written, and informative. This is a must-read for anyone who is concerned about their health and their diet.
.It’s a little dry, but the in-depth discussion of how eating animal products impacts human health might be all you need to convince you to go vegan.
Miscellaneous and From the Chef’s Kitchen:
Well and Why Not Giving a Chef Mayra Gift A Certificate or Holiday Cookies
Vegan Essentials is offering a variety of holiday gift ideas for the vegan. They also have gift certificates so your favorite vegan can get something they want.
Don’t forget to visit our advertisers (under “Are You Looking For” at the top right and left of this page) for other great gift ideas.
Philanthropic Gift Ideas:
Or here’s another thought… If you exchange gifts, as we do, with people who don’t really need or want anything, you can always go the civic minded route. There are many worthy charities out there. This year, they’re getting fewer donations than in the past, so if you’re among the fortunate ones who might have spare funds, this is a good way to go. Below are a few vegan-oriented charities.
Animal Acres is offering Holiday Gift Sponsorships for just $25/year (online sponsorship form).
Farm Sanctuary also accepts donations.
Animal Aid (a United Kingdom based animal activist group) accepts donations and also has an online shop.
Related posts:
- A video thank you to Vegan Chef Mayra
- Chef Mayra’s Hearty Vegan Crockpot Stew
- Best of 2011 Wellness Contest
- Chef Mayra’s Holiday Specials 2010
- Chef Mayra Arroz Dulce