Linky Dinks

Since you're already scouring the interwebs for Cyber Monday deals, why not take a break and check out these fun links?

Planning a trip to Sweden any time soon? A fellow hungry vegan traveler sent me the link to this sweet Google Map she created, highlighting all the veg-friendly spots.

Smaggle went to India with non-profit, World Vision India. Eye-opening!

via Smaggle, Edenland also toured India. What an experience!

Hobo Siren is schlepping around the some countries. (Love the pic of her with the camel.)

Travel the world? The whole world? This article from The Onion tells us to calm down a bit and rethink a minute.

I like WTF Should I Do With My Life? But this guy? Not so much.

Ugh, I want THIS to be my life RIGHT NOW!

For my snowy-weathered-friends, Mackenzie wrote this nice piece on wintertime bicycling at her blog, Whatever Gatsby.

And now this, just because.

"If I had my life to live again, I'd make the same mistakes, only sooner." — Tallulah Bankhead

What's Vegan at... TGI Fridays

In short: not much.

My cousin and her family happened to be in Orlando this week. On a night that worked out for all of us, we met up for dinner at a TGI Fridays near Disney, where they were all staying.

Naturally, this would not be my first choice, but I cared more about visiting my badass cousin than eating anything fancy. However, it was my cousin who chose it (in a rush), and she has a list of food allergies. We were in for a treat!

As soon as we were seated, my cousin asked for the gluten-free menu. The server handed her an allergen menu, which was handy for me, too. This menu listed everything that was in everything: dairy, eggs, shellfish, wheat, soy, etc. I should have taken a picture of this menu. Each allergen was listed as a symbol, and hot damn, almost every menu item had multiple symbols next to them. Even their hummus platter (which you would assume would be vegan minus the dollop of bullsh*t yogurt sauce on top) contained shellfish! My cousin and I wondered if TGI Fridays was just covering their arse extra, to be safe (even all of their fries were listed as containing wheat, dairy, eggs, shellfish, etc.), but we had an inattentive server, plus it was pretty busy, so we didn't pull out our food detective badges and magnifying glasses.

What did I get? Not a naked salad. And let me tell you something about their dressings: EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM CONTAINS DAIRY. Even the balsamic vinaigrette. Most of them also contain eggs. And no, they don't offer oil and vinegar on the side. You either get the nasty secretion-filled dressings, or you get nada. Which is what happened to my cousin.

I was surprised to see that their vegetable sides were vegan as-is, so I ordered them both, specifying no butter or cheese, etc. just to be on the safe side. The two veggie sides are "steamed broccoli," and "sauteed vegetable medley." (Broccoli had no allergen symbols, and the "vegetable medley" only contained soy.) I received...

a small plate with 4 large pieces of broccoli, and another small plate with about 6 pieces of zucchini.

Don't get too excited now.

Like I said, I cared more about spending time with my cousin than feasting on some gorgeous platter of food, so it was no big deal. Plus, she and I bonded over our dietary no-nos.

SO, if you find yourself at TGI Fridays, or any other similar chain restaurant, ask for the allergen menu and marvel at the nothingness!

Heaps of Thanksvegan Recipes!

ACK! It's almost Thanksgiving! Hopefully you know what the heck you're gonna make/eat/serve, but if not, here's a quick round-up of vegan noms, from simple to elegant to downright sexy. I look forward to reading about everyone's Tofurky Day! (And yes, I will also be sharing my feast!)

Scroll down on this link for some classic Thanksgiving flavors with a raw vegan twist.

Listen, I've been vegan for most of my life now, but I was never a big fan of salads. It's hard to get excited about a bowl of leafy raw veggies when there are so many other awesome foods to eat! HOWEVER, these salads would give me a case of the good wiggles.

Forks and Beans always has such cutie patootie things on her blog. Check out her kid-friendly Thanksgiving recipes here. (It's totally not just for kids, though.)

Angela from Oh She Glows is such a classy dame. Check out her round-up of GORGEOUS holiday recipes, as well as some tips on having a stress-free holiday amongst meat-eaters.

The fine folk at Catskill Animal Sanctuary offer these lovely holiday recipes.

Thanks, Vegetarian Times! How to Tackle a Squash. My preferred method? Get someone else to do it.

STOP EVERYTHING and someone please cook one of EVERYTHING off this round-up and send it my way! (Then ya best believe I'll be givin' thanks!)

Okay, food aside (just for a moment!), vegan warrior, Jenny Brown shares some tips on surviving Thanksgiving as a lone vegan.

Check out this new site from Mercy for Animals, Pardon A Turkey. Learn fun facts about turkeys, grab some yummy vegan recipes, and pledge to "pardon a turkey," and be entered to win some goodies from Tofurky, Field Roast, or gardein!

What are you serving up for Thanksgiving? Got some rockin' recipes? Share them in the comments!

Vegan Food for Thought

--- from Neither Man nor Beast: Feminism and the Defense of Animals by Carol J. Adams