Vegetarian Star

Ever wonder what the story is behind the man who makes Ellen DeGeneres‘ vegan tacos, roast and pot pie?

Roberto Martin is the kind of man every woman wants–because he knows how to cook a good veg meal!

Martin, the youngest of 15 children, originally wanted to dice the Obamas and Gores of the world instead of onions.

He studied political science at Cal State Fullerton.

He later studied at the Culinary Institute of America and found himself cooking for celebrities shortly thereafter.

Cooking for a family with a diabetic child was Martin’s motivation to switch to plant based cooking.

“Now that I cook exclusively vegan meals for Ellen and Portia, I’ve learned that the variety of experiences in my life has helped me along the way,” Martin says on Ellen’s website. “I know what it’s like to change your habits, to remove animal protein from your diet, and I plan on sharing my experience with you. Even if you start with just one meal a week, you can learn to cook healthy and delicious vegan meals without having to make a big change.”

In case you’ve forgotten how good Martin does his thing, watch the clip showing him demonstrating a vegan pot pie.

And grab some of his other recipe ideas here.

via scouseveg

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Annie Duke‘s mail order company My Mixed Nuts features gummy bears without the gelatin, sunny bears.

However, Annie has recently announced to her Twitter followers that she’s not vegetarian..right before she announced she was getting some love from a vegan soup.

“Lunch at Mani’s…Yummy curry cauliflower and chickpea soup. Vegan :)”

Your average burger lover usually doesn’t Tweet about cauliflowers and chickpeas.

Has Annie joined the club of flexitarians or part time vegetarians?

Is she a fish eating veggie?

Or does she just want to kick vegan Daniel Negreanu‘s butt at the poker table, edamame present or not.

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Oh, to be the best friend of Jane Velez-Mitchell, who sent her favorite people some chocolate without the butter, milk and or egg.

“Sent vegan Chocolates to the Atlanta crew for Xmas – so far they’re getting rave reviews!”

Unfortunately, not everyone works with Jane and the rest of vegans are left to fend for themselves when the cravings attack.

Instead of giving in to Snickers or the closest available piece of candy you’ll gobble down so fast you’ll forget you’re cheating, invest a little time in learning some brands of vegan chocolates.

There are brands you might not suspect to be vegan, like Trader Joe’s chocolate chips or some of Newman’s Own Chocolate Bars.

Other brands specifically market themselves as vegan like Endangered Species Dark Chocolate or Plamill Organic Vegan Chocolate.

Raiding Jane’s candy jar hidden in her file cabinet would probably be a great place too, but most of us will never experience that option.

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Vegetarians and meat eaters can get along and even eat together, so says Lauren Harb at the Huffington Post.

Harb reviewed several restaurants in the Los Angeles area that ranged from totally vegan to meat dominant with recessive veggie features.

Real Food Daily, a vegan food mecca, made the list to make everyone happy in mixed company.

“OK, I’ll be honest. Most meat-eaters aren’t dying to eat vegan cheese or meat substitutes when they can have the real thing. But it is with extreme confidence that I promise you, no matter what your diet will or won’t allow, you want to eat their Not-chos. More often than you probably should. And yes, you want to add the tofu taco mix. No, you won’t know the difference from the real thing.”

Besides Not-chos and tofu tacos, RFD is the place to get a glimpse of numerous LA celebs like Tobey Maguire, Elizabeth Berkley, Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr and even meat loving country cutie Brad Paisley.

Is there an LA restaurant on Harb’s list that keeps you happy?

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If you’ve already signed up for the 21 Day Vegan Kickstart Program with the Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine, you know you’ll be getting tips from the great cookbook author Alicia Silverstone.

When the three week initiation period has ended, why not continue with Alicia’s advice by grabbing a copy of The Kind Diet cookbook?

Extra has provided a few recipes you might start off with, but be warned: Tofu Not A Turkey may not be the first one to try if you stuffed yourself with bird, faux or real, for the entire holiday season.

Apple Crumble on the other hand…

Who doesn’t get into vegan desserts!

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The owners of one of Jason Mraz‘s favorite raw vegan food restaurants, Cafe Gratitude, recently opened a Mexican vegan eatery, Gracias Madre.

As expected, Jason has expanded his love for Gracias Madre and recently made a Tweet about it.

“Today in San Fran: Cafe Gratitude opens Gracias Madre, A Vegan Taqueria! I’ve sampled the yumness already. It’s your new favorite spot.”

Gracias Madre offers 100% completely organic and vegan food and all cheese, milk and ice cream is created from nuts.

The menu features everything from tacos with fresh veggies, beans and cashew cheese to butternut squash soup to salads.

Gracias Cafe Gratitude for putting the vegan punch in Mexican!

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Rick Bayless. Credit: Joshua M. Thompson on Wikimedia Commons

Something smelled bad at PBS chef Rick Bayless‘ restaurants in Chicago recently–the smell of uninspected meat!

An Illinois Department of Agriculture inspector found 80 pounds of bacon without an inspection mark.

“The only product (Illinois restaurants) can have are either ones with an Illinois or federal mark of inspection,” said Colleen O’Keefe, a division manager of food safety and animal protection at the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

Whether or not this meant unsafe meat made it to the patrons of Mr. Bayless’ restaurants is unclear, but with the knowledge of the health risks of tainted meat, one would think Frontera Grill, Topolobampo and Xoco would follow every regulation meant to provide a safer product to the public.

A helpful hint to customers of Bayless’ eateries–skip the meat altogether and order a veg meal instead!

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Argh!

Is New Year’s here already?

If you’re the resolutions type, this may be the year to give veganism a try.

And there’s no better organization to remind you how this resolution could be the best health decision ever than the Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine.

The PCRM is giving individuals a chance to sign up for their 21 day Vegan Kickstart Program.

The program offers resources and tools to get you on the vegan path including diet tips from Alicia Silverstone and other veg celebrity guests, nutritional webcasts from PCRM’s president, Dr. Neal Barnard, a restaurant guide, daily emailed tips, a 21 day meal plan and a community forum to share all your happiness after discovering which brand of fake breaded chicken tricked the fam into believing it was real.

The Kickstart begins on January 1 2010 of course, so sign up today!

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