Previously Posted Questions/Victories/Replies

1. Using the Vegan word in business
   Hello Marisa, I recently read a post by Seth Godin in which he talked about the fact that part of Lula Apothecary's success was due to the fact that they didn't have vegan specfic wording on their signs (initially mostly due to not having enough money for a lot of words)- and so more people came in and simply experienced deliciousness. This got me thinking about my store (and it got another vegan business owner who has a bakery thinking about her business). We have both seen people look at our signs and walk by or say something about the word vegan and walk by. Possibly if they came in, they would be won over (at least a little bit) by the bakery's yummy products and my store's vegan footwear, etc. So my question to you and your readers is this - are we doing veganism (and our businesses) a disservice by using the word vegan? ...
2. weight loss
   Hi Marisa, You inspire me SOOOO much on a daily basis! I love reading what you are up to on Facebook and on your fantastic blog. Several months ago I read about losing your wedding weight and have been wanting to email you ever since! :) (You were small to begin with but now you are super teeny and look absolutely amazing!! :)) I know this probably sounds silly, but could you give me an example of what you ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner to lose those last few pounds? I eliminated dairy from my diet several months ago and feel sooooo much healthier. Occasionally I still eat the occasional egg from the free roaming chickens at a local organic farm on Whidbey Island, but I'd like to give those up, too... The thing is, I'm not really sure how to approach losing weight as a vegan because I tend to eat too many carbs! :/ Do you have any advice? Any insight would be much appreciated! Thank you so much!! Catie ...
3. Eating More Whole Foods -- Recipes?
   Hi Missy,   So one of my issues with going completely vegan is that I'm trying to eat less processed food, especially given the information available about how we should avoid isolated soy protein.  Many of these recipes include these types of fake meat products.  Do you have any advice about where to find more quick, family friendly recipes that don't include the fake meats?    Thanks, my dear!  I love getting notes from you every day.  :)   Love, Liesl        ...
4. a dumb question (hope not too personal)
   Is your husband vegan? Second, If he is would you have married him if he wasn't? I'm just curious. Also, what do you do for your calcium and protein? I know that's probably another dumb question. ...
5. Helping People find their inner veggie
   On a roll! First, my hubby went veggie, then our 24-year-old son, and now a follower at our FB page is on the veggie path. I got to meet her and hear her wonderful words "I'm now a vegetarian and what you post on facebook helps." She's so proud too. I'm so excited, I've been baking on the weekends and passing on the vegan goodness. Our neighbors love it and can't wait for the next yummy dish. It feels so good to share nutrition hands on. People are shopping for healthier baking ingredients...switching over to organics...Woohoo!!! I'm too excited, I can't even type right now...LOL. Next goal, help them all go vegan and beyond :D ...
6. Vegan in College
   Hi! As a reseident assistant in the "Green Building" on my campus, I try to help my freshmen residents make healthy and cmopassionate food choices. However, college students usually just chow down on convenient packaged and processed foods. Without kitchens to prepare their own foods, freshmen gain that dreaded "freshman 15." Do you know of any good easy recipes using really basic appliances such as a microwave and refrigerator and simple tools? I'd love more ideas to share with the residents coming this fall! Thanks! ...
7. Veg with the Fam?
   Hi Marisa! I got married 6 months ago and my husband and I moved to California. Since then I have become vegan! Thanks in large part to you and your "missions"! We're going home to our families in Texas for the first time next month and I'm very nervous to tell them about my new lifestyle. I'm scared they won't understand or accept the new me. How do I make them feel comfortable and answer all their questions (and possible criticism)? Do you have any advice on how to break it to them? Or explain it in a nice way? Thanks again for all you've done for my husband and I! ...
8. Mushy Tofu Syndrome--How to Fix?
   Marisa,   I recently tried to make sesame-ginger glazed tofu over rice and veggies.  It sounded delicious.  However, I completely ruined the tofu.  I drained it (perhaps not well enough?) and fried it (perhaps not long enough?).  My sister and I have both tried to make tofu (tofu scramble; fried tofu; etc), and we have both failed.  It has all been a disaster.  I was wondering if there is some secret to making tofu on the stove, and what that secret is.  We are desperate.    Thank you,   Marcyanna M. ...
9. Favorite brands?
   Hey Marisa! So...I was wondering if you had any brands of coconut oil, nutritional yeast, miso, and vegetable broth that you recommend? I've been using TJ's veggie broth for a while, but wanted other ideas. And I started researching coconut oil and nutritional yeast today and was thinking it would be good to try both of them. The coconut oil is funny...my vegetarian grandparents ate it every day, but then they cut it out bc it was too "fatty". They replaced it w/ hydrogenated vegetable oil, which we now know is terrible for you. Anyway...we come full circle, yah? Ok, thanks, lady!   ...
10. Bug repellant?
    I wonder what you have to say about safe bug repellant? The mosquitos and biting knats are killing me around here and I can't figure out what is safe for my kids and the environment! ...
11. Veg athlete in Italy?
    Hi Marisa... i found your contact accidentally here on fb and i immediatelly noticed that you're a vegan. I'm not a vegan..but i'm tryng to be vegatarian. It's not easy for me because i'm an athlete at very hight level but i wish i could stop eating meat for an ethical motive. I love animals so much. Every animal on earth. I love nature and i know how global warming could be reduced by reducing intensive farms. I can't watch videos of violence on animal. I really can't because i feel completely shoked..it is really a violence on myself..even if it could be a way to understand better. So i read a book some months ago: eating animals by jonathan safran foer..this book make me open my eyes. I feel so bad for lots of time thinking to that book..how can man be so cruel with animals?? But now i thank god to have opened my eyes..i have a big dream: open a vegetarian restaurant in my country to make people understand all this. I wish my dream will come true. Ok i wrote so much..and sorry for my orrible english!! What i want to say is..nothing happens by chance in my opinion..and finding your page here on fb is not by chance!! I like what you write..and what you think about animals. You are a sensible person. Like me. Hope you find the time to answer me..:) Elena   ...
12. Why can handlers be so mean and make the animals suffer without getting in trouble?
    How can handlers get away with the abuse they give the chickens & cow & pigs? Do the animals have rights? ...
13. Vegan Running Shoes
    Hi Marisa! Any suggestions for some good vegan running shoes? ...
14. Vegan dog food?
    So I quit eating meat last December. Next is eggs, milk and cheese. Slowly, but surely, want to go vegan. Just got a dog from the VHS. Went to get him dog food and yuck....what do you feed your animals? Do they get to go vegan too? Lori ...
15. Complete no-turning-back vegans
    Marisa, You are wonderful to be a Vocal Vegan.  My daughter and I started with what we called a "vegan experiment" a year and a half ago.  Then we said 'hey, THIS is the way to live.'....Then we found we liked it and became "virtual vegans" - a dab of butter or cheese now and then.  After the Oil Spill, the sad state of sea life breaks our hearts and makes us complete no-turning-back Vegans.....I think there's a universe of my generation (early boomers) who  simply have no idea the horrors they're doing to the earth and their hearts - in both the health and moral sense,  However, they need to be hand-held - to tip-top into veganism.  Oy!.....what to do?! -Carol   ...
16. CHEESE!!!
    Help... I have been vegan since November. I did GREAT the first six months of not having cheese... The last couple of months, I have fallen off the wagon completely when it comes to cheese... HELP. I feel yucky when I eat it, my stomach feels all nasty and bloated... I know that the casein in the cheese is why I keep coming back! I quit smoking after 20 years, why can't I kick cheese!! help.. ...
17. A happy surprise
    we had a family bday party this past weekend and there was the usual variety of stuff that chris's family puts out - decent for vegan fare (ie veggie burgers, fruit and green salad) when ALL of a SUDDEN (dun dun dun), chris's mom came up to me and said, "did you know that Woodstock (Chris's dad) made a vegan potato salad?" you could have knocked me over with a piece of microfiber! This is a man who NEVER cooks outside the box (never say never!)...but since there is now a critical mass of veg*n or veg*n friendly folk in the family, he made a separate potato salad...and here is the clincher in my mind: it was all because I decided to leave a jar of Veganaise in their fridge for when I am up there craving some faux salad-y stuff. There was even a person there who was at the party was allergic to egg (?) and was also really excited because she never has potato salad. It was a huge hit. Now I am brainstorming about what other things I can leave lurking in their cabinets/fridge. ;) jennifer   ...
18. What About Cat Food?
    I'm a vegan who lives with a carnivore (a cat). I give my cat food made of fish. I don't agree with the idea of making a cat vegetarian or vegan; felines are true carnivores and are meant to eat animal flesh. But feeding her animal flesh goes against my ethics, too. How do others deal with this dilemma? ...
19. ripples
    Hey Marisa! :) So, I got a text the other day from my neighbor.... I wanted to share :) "I feel like i owe you guys a massive thank you. I had toyed with the idea of giving up dairy but never seriusly then you told me how much better u felt after doing so. It's the best health decision I have made in forever. I feel so much more energetic. I have had almost no allergies this spring- I am usually plaged badly. I dont have bubble guts anymore. I lost 10 pounds. I will never go back! I will prob never give up meat but I am much more aware of how much meat I eat and how it is produced. Thanks a bunch :-) " This is on top of the fact that her husband stopped having daily migraines after first cutting WAY back on dairy (he used to go thru a gallon of milk a week, YUCK!!) and then going dairy free. He has not had a migraine in I think he said 3 months. Thanks again for everything. You inspired me, I inspired my husband, we inspired our neighbors. I am loving the rippling effects! :D Your friend, Geri ...
20. Healthy on Vacation
    Hey Marisa!  Sounds like you're having a lovely holiday-- so glad!  :) So, I have a few veganish questions for you, wondering if you might have some ideas... I'm going to Nicaragua for about a month/month and a half, and am wondering what kinds of foods/supplements I can bring along to keep me in good health.  I'm sure I'll be eating a lot of rice and beans (and not asking what's in the beans... :/   and I think there are some veggies around, but don't think they're a big part of the diet there.  A friend said that she used to bring "green powders" (clorophyll, algea, etc) when she travelled in Africa, and sometimes would take up to 10 caps per day.  I was also thinking of bringing some kind of super-protein vegan powder to add to fresh fruit juices, but don't know a good one.  And my last part of this question is, what kind of vitamin supplements do you take?   It's become clear to me that I need to be taking something but don't know what's best, and I'm wondering if I need to take some kind of non-animal calcium? Whew!  Sorry to inundate you, but thought you could point me in the right direction for some of these!  :) Lots of love, Jenn ...

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