5 Online Resources Every Vegan Should Know

So, you've recently turned vegan, and you're walking around, happily slurping green smoothies and snuggling every stray cat you see.  And then suddenly you realize your favourite wine has fish bits in it, you have no idea how to make chickpea salad, and everyone you know is acting like a t*** about your new food choices.  Your cries are being heard, and rest assured you are not alone.  Here are a few online resources that have helped me on my vegany way, and I hope they help you too.

5.  Barnivore

Fish bladders, pig fat, and chicken's eggs.  Some of the delights which may lurk in your merry glass of wine. As weird and gross as it sounds, your alcohol may not be vegan.  The subject of vegan alcohol is perhaps not that commonly discussed, but those who are concerned about avoiding animal additives and processing methods can head on over to Barnivore, where countless beers, wines, and liquors and listed as vegan friendly or not.  And I do mean countless.  The site is very reader-supported, meaning that most of the information comes from devoted vegans who have taken it upon themselves to email various alcohol companies to clarify their ingredients and practices.  The owners of the site are also working on an app!

4.  Happy Cow

Is Happy Cow sick of people lavishing praise on them? Anyway, they deserve it.  Happy Cow is a magical place where you can enter pretty much any city in the world into their search engine, and they will tell you where you can eat as a vegan/vegetarian.  I've found results for Buenos Aires, Lagos, Sofia, Suva, and Little Rock.  London alone has 308 results.  Happy Cow organizes their establishments into four different categories: vegan, vegetarian, veg-friendly, and health food stores.  They have all the location and contact information you need, and they even include reviews from other visitors.  The site also has a ton of other veggie information, including tips and recipes, but I've mostly used the travel information.  I don't really know how I used to travel before I met this site.  I must have just wandered around aimlessly trying to beg food from strangers in the streets.

3.  Post Punk Kitchen

The ultimate vegan food blog.  If you want culinary inspiration, you need look no further than chef Isa Chandra Moskowitz's playground of creative vegan recipes.  Chocolate pumpkin loaf? Ranch salad with buffalo tempeh? Dilly stew with rosemary dumplings? All such delights can be found here. Post Punk Kitchen also has a very active forum, with vegans from all over the world coming together to gripe about their grandmothers trying to feed them chicken stock and brag about how much kale and oreos they ate today.

2.  Vegan Health

Registered dietitian Jack Norris has put a lot of effort into obtaining and dispersing reliable, hocus pocus free medical advice for vegans.  If you have a question about single nutrients, supplementation, or common myths and confusions regarding vegan health, his site should be the first place you look.  Very specific recommendations and plenty of resources abound.  He's also posted things like possible meal plans if you can't imagine what a vegan day would even look like.  If you want to find out about B12, Veganism and cancer, raising healthy vegan children, and protein, this resource is the place for you!

1.  Vegetarian Food for Thought Podcast

So, we've covered your health, your stomach, your next trip, and your next pint.  Now it's time for your soul's education.  Does that sound a little crazy and over-the-top?  You obviously haven't been listening to Colleen Patrick Goudreau's earthshaking podcast.  But now you will, and now your life will change. Everything you need is here: education about animal issues, education about animals themselves (every thought about whether you want to cuddle a loving turkey, or nuzzle a calming donkey?  You will now.), health issues, how to respond to your co-worker, family member, or anyone else who might challenge you. My explanation isn't doing it justice.  Just go over there right now and listen to: How to Talk to Hunters, Animal Advocacy and Emotional Stress, Conversations with Strangers, or Life Without Cheese.  You're welcome.