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Author: Katie

I laugh in the face of danger! Then I hide until it goes away. I blog over at http://donteatoffthesidewalk.com
Feed Corrections + how to install an OPML file

Feed Corrections + how to install an OPML file

Comments 5 comments

Here is the list of people whose blogs were not imported properly into Feedly, because the RSS address was wrong or because Feedly itself has issues. We miss you, Google Reader.

http://rhiannonveganmelbourne.blogspot.com.au
http://imogenmichel.blogspot.com
http://www.misskitchenwitch.com/blog
http://kimbelina.ca/blog
http://stopandsmelltheveggies.blogspot.com
http://www.bakeeatlovetreats.co.uk/blog
http://mobettavegan.blogspot.com
http://infinitesandwich.blogspot.com
http://www.veganknyquol.blogspot.com
http://bigmikeeats.blogspot.com
http://www.welshgirleats.com
http://pandawithcookie.com

And by request, here is a terrible collage of how to import an OPML file and add individual blogs in feedly! I forgot to add this at the beginning, but make sure your ‘main folder’ in feedly is empty. If you are neurotic and already have your other feeds sorted into a dozen different categories like me, this will not be an issue.

feedlyhowto

1. In the left hand bar, click ‘add content’.
2. At the bottom, click on the orange thumbnail that says ‘OPML’.
3. Hit browse, and select the OPML file that you already downloaded and click ‘import’. The screen will take a minute to change, don’t panic or refresh!
4. The page will turn into your different feed categories, and you will see that the ‘main folder’ is filling up with new feeds. Exciting! Let it do that for a minute, there’s a tiny blue bar at the top of the main folder so you’ll know when it’s done.
5. When it’s done, click the little pencil over the main folder and rename it to VeganMoFo or VeganMoFo2014 or Skittle-dee-skittle-dat, it’s your folder.
6. To add the people above or any other blog you want, go back to ‘add content’ from the first step and paste the blog address in the search bar.
7. Hit the little green button and a menu will pop out of the left side and ask you if you want to put said blog in a category, so check the box for VeganMoFo/Skittle-dee and put it in. Done!

The blogroll file is here!

The blogroll file is here!

Comments 56 comments

Our expert OPML file creator worked as fast as possible to get this to you, so, click here to get the file that you put into Feedly or your other RSS reader:

VeganMoFo 2014 Blogroll

Please keep in mind that part of the success of getting all of the blogs correctly added to the file is that we get the correct RSS feed – some people put answers like ‘doesn’t work’ or that they don’t know their RSS url, those obviously we can spot and correct, but with 400 blogs we have to take your word that the link you gave us is correct. So if you signed up and you do not see your blog when you download the file, comment on this post with your blog name and we will compile a corrections post of the feeds that were missed, so people can add you to their feed reader themselves. You don’t have to re-give us all of the information you filled out on the form, just give us your blog address and we will look it up and fill it in ourselves. We know it sucks to see your blog missing, we will get your blog out to the community as quickly as possible, promise!

The lists that arrange the blogs by country/theme/etc. will be coming shortly, when they’re ready we’ll make another post and update the links to the right.

If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to ask. Happy MoFoing, everyone!

Round Up – Review style!

Round Up – Review style!

Comments 15 comments

Although themes and cooking and taco cleanses are all fun, one thing I love to see on vegan blogs is reviews. I rely on them heavily when I actually get to go to a health food store and want to buy all of the new things, and reviewing the vegan options in your town are probably going to help at least one person who’s googling ‘vegan options in Tiny Town, Flyover State, USA’.

Kate visited Vegan Haven while in Seattle and givers her opinion on some of the small goodies she brought home.

Over at This Vegan Mouth there are multiple reviews for local dishes in Portland, including this amazing looking bowl!

I don’t have a Costco anywhere near me, but East Meets West Veg gives us a tour of hers that shows that if I happen across one, I will be more than satisfied with the vegan options.

Carrie has a review of Soy Curls, which may be old news to most people but I still cannot get them here and when I ask about them in health food stores the people who work there have never heard of them. If you’re semi-new to veganism, they’re definitely worth seeking out or ordering online.

I used to be a big fan of the Morningstar Farms pockets, pre-vegan and when they still existed, so this review from F*@! Yeah Vegan Pizza for the new Tofurky Pockets made me go ‘yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!’. Everything in pockets, please.

One of my favorite foods is, no kidding, cereal. Afro Vegan Chick reviewed a chocolate granola cereal that makes me want to eat a big bowl while watching cartoons in my underwear (typical Friday night, really).

I haven’t eaten meat in 20 years, so I really have no concept of what it tastes like anymore or if faux meats are close enough, so I always think it’s interesting when a meat eater, or in this case a still fairly new vegan like Suzanne, thinks of them. (P.S. The Gardein chik’n sliders are AMAZING.)

Ty has a quick review of flax seed milk (which I am grossly fascinated by and really want to try), and the So Delicious greek-style yogurt, which may or may not tide you over until the great vegan yogurt shortage comes to an end.

And last but certainly not least, the king of vegan product reviews has a ‘you probably would assume this isn’t vegan’ review in the form on these new Kettle chips! Flavored chips frequently have milk in them, and some of the more ‘natural’ kind include honey, so it’s good to know that we have a few more flavors to choose from!

 

Have you reviewed any products for VeganMoFo that I didn’t see?  Feel free to post a link in the comments!  And send me a bag of those chips, if you can get them.

The blogrolls are going up as we type!

The blogrolls are going up as we type!

Comments 76 comments

If you look to your right (or if you click through to the blog from your reader and THEN look to your right), you will see links to the 2013 blogs by various categories BUT BEFORE YOU LEAVE THIS PAGE, PLEASE READ THESE POINTS:

1. We will have an OPML file for you to download, which works the way the google bundles did, of every blog. But we are waiting until after people can check the master list for their names, because once we have the OPML file and let you guys download it, we can’t do anything about missing blogs and it makes us sad. If you prefer this method of MoFo browsing, you may have to wait until tomorrow to get the file.

2. Mary is working hard right now at getting every list up, so if you check out a category you know you signed up for, please check back tomorrow before frantically emailing us about it because she may just have not gotten to it yet. If your blog is not up by the start of MoFo tomorrow, then let us know. As you can imagine, this involves a lot of copying/pasting/typing/methodical checking. But we know you guys are chomping at the bit so if you want to start browsing blogs to add to your reader, go ahead and start looking at the lists.

3. The big list will come last, for now we are concentrating on getting up things by category.

4. If you have any questions, leave them in the comments, tweet them, or ask on facebook and someone will get back to you ASAP!

VeganMoFo On The Go

VeganMoFo On The Go

Comments 5 comments

Every year, we hear people say, “Oh, i’d love to participate but i’ll be out of town for a week or two and won’t be able to post.” So here a few ways that you can keep your blog full of content, even if all you have on you is a smart phone. I have an android phone and use wordpress, so those are the apps I have experience with and will be referencing.

1. Did you know that youtube channels have their own RSS feeds? It’s entirely possible to participate in VeganMoFo without typing a single word! If you’re more of a talker than a blogger, vlogging for the month is a great option. The address for a youtube account RSS feed is: https://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/base/users/YourUserName/uploads (obviously, put your youtube username in place of ‘YourUserName’). Most smart phones take pretty good video quality, just remember to turn your phone. If you just want to supplement your normal blogging content with videos, you can just embed the video into a blog post. The youtube app on your phone has a ‘share’ feature that will send it right to your wordpress app, if you use wordpress.

You can make cooking videos, show your recent vegan grocery purchases, do a video restaurant review, product reviews, or just vlog about food in general. We’re going to have a list of blogging prompts up soon that can also be used as vlogging ideas.

2. Instagram! Via the instagram app, you have the option to share your photos directly with tumblr, but after you take a photo you can also click the three dots underneath it ‘…’ and one of the options is to copy the photo url, which you can then paste into your wordpress app. If you plan on relying on instagram for blog content, make sure you read up on some tips to get the best food photos you possibly can with your camera phone.

3. You can also write some posts in advance and set them to automatically publish when you’re going to be gone. There’s no rule that says you have to write your posts on the day you publish them! Even if you won’t be out of town during part of VeganMoFo, having a few pre-written posts for days when you feel too burned out to blog are a good idea.

If you have any other suggestions for traveling MoFoers, please feel free to leave a comment! And keep in mind that the cut-off for sign-ups is August 28th, we need a few days to get the blog list together.

It’s My Special Day Round-up

It’s My Special Day Round-up

Comments 7 comments

Just like last year, I signed up to do my one round-up on my birthday. My favorite thing to do on my birthday is just punctuate all of my normal activities by screaming ‘IT’S MY SPECIAL DAY’. Well, IT’S MY SPECIAL DAY so here are all the things I want to post about.

I’ve seen plenty of dirt cakes, but I like the easy Halloween twist!

I thought the fact that her son wanted her to make cupcakes for a friend’s birthday was cute enough, but the idea of kitchen utensils plotting together to break made me laugh. Because i’ve had that happen. THEY’RE SENTIENT, LOOK OUT.

Even though I don’t watch Dr. Who (bad nerd!), I know a lot of people who do so I thought Cadry’s Dr. themed dinner party was really cute.

I have been on a pumpkin-food kick lately (we made pumpkin pie for my birthday in lieu of a cake), and I think that Silas is one of the cutest little vegans EVER, so win/win for him holding a muffin dressed like Spiderman!

But speaking of cakes, this Mint Chocolate Chip Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting is a CILNO (cake i’d like to nom on).

But look, it’s the best of both worlds! Pumpkin Chocolate Walnut Coffee Cake! Actually, I think that’s the best of all of the worlds.

There have been some really cool themes this year, a few of my favorites are 50 Shades of Kale, 30 Days of Christmas Cookies, Eat to the Beat, Geeky Treats (star Wars edition), and The Walking Fed.

And before I go, a happy birthday month to my fellow MoFoers: Lindsay, Erin, Muriel, Jeremy, Kylie, Colorado Vegan, Justin, Andrea, Veronica, Kim, Katya, Nicole, and Carrie!

Giveaway: Eat Awesome e-book

Giveaway: Eat Awesome e-book

Comments 137 comments

Winners, all of you! I will pass on your emails. Thanks for all of the fun answers!

Sammy: Almonds fill me full of nutty love you can have them in so many different ways, nori coated almonds, smoked paprika nut dust, ground almonds in delicious gluten free vegan cheesecakes, blanched, chopped fried roasted the worlds your almond and more! X 🙂 they are super delish sweet or savoury
Tia: Hazelnuts! Why?
1. they can be used in cocktails, salads, cookies or just nibbling
2. it’s such a great word that reflects what it IS
3. it’s so fun to say, I named my lil’brown dog, Hazelnut
4. they can be served naked or with skin ;0
Natasha: I love cashews! You can use them to make a variety of tasty homemade cashew cheese, cashew milk, creamy sauces, and delicious cashew cream.
Jacki: Pistachios are my favorite because my husband uses them to make the BEST vegan ice cream. In addition to eating a vegan diet I’m sensitive to wheat. I’m excited about the simple, gluten-free recipes in Eat Awesome!
Veggie Sara: Yaaay! Happy to see an international give-away 🙂
It’s so hard to pick a favorite nut. Must go for cashews because you can do so many awesome things with them like make sauce, cheeze, …
Mimi: Hmmm.. I love walnuts, because I love cooking with them. Yummy! 🙂
Rasmus: Hazelnut is my favorite!
Jordyn: My favorite everyday nut is almond. I eat them pre and post run. They are nutritious and delicious! My favorite “fancy” run is pecan.
Crystal: Cashew. I can feel the lovely oils penetrating my mind and skin. I would love to win this! Although vegan, I believe whole is the way to go and I need help with the transition.
JustBloggs, who would get three e-books if I had any say or that even made sense as a prize:

P ecans are the best
E asy on the almonds
C ashews beat the rest
A lmonds are to die for
N uts to you and me!
S’ all I can say

When Paul contacted me about giving away some copies of his e-book, I was a little nervous. I never want to give away something to you guys that I wouldn’t be 100% excited to get myself, and self-published e-books can be…not good. Luckily for me and you, all you have to do is go over to the site and you will see a clean, fancy layout with beautiful photos, humor, and links to many positive reviews. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a lot of vegan cookbooks and i’m not shy about saying what I do and don’t like the books I buy to have.

Eat Awesome is more of a really nice zine that a book (and ya’ll know I love zines so I mean that positively), there are only about 20 recipes and the recipes are loose with the directions and measurements (which is fine by me since I will do anything to avoid washing a measuring spoon, that’s what I have eyeballs for). There’s also a decent-sized FAQ in the front, along with some pantry staple suggestions. At the end of the book there are over a dozen meal suggestions, or really short recipes (this is in addition to the other twenty). There’s also a zombie reference and a picture of a nut sack (for soaking nuts, you pervs), what more could you want? If you want some super-fancy-pants photos, you also get those. Win/win/win! If you want to check out some of the photos and one of the recipes, they’re right on the front page.

Overall, you can tell that a lot of effort and love went into making this book. It’s focused on using whole foods and is gluten-free, so if that sounds like a good deal to you, keep reading!

Today’s giveaway will please a lot of people because it’s international! If you can download and open a .pdf file, you can win. Woo! We have ten copies of Eat Awesome to give away. Simply comment here, telling me what your favorite nut is (keep it clean, kids) and I will pick ten winners tomorrow at 5 pm.

Giveaway: Strawberry Hedgehog

Giveaway: Strawberry Hedgehog

Comments 123 comments

Winners!

coldandsleepy, soap: I love anything that smells like incense, as long as patchouli isn’t involved. Patchouli makes me want to die. I love Patchouli but I won’t hold that against you.
Monica, deodorant: I’ve been wanting to give this brand a try since seeing it on VBR! I think my favorite scents usually come from nature like jasmine or anything fresh and floral. Even my husband wishes for cologne that smells like dirt…he’s a little weird 🙂 You can totally get dirt scented essential oils, I have a perfume with dirt notes!

After the news broke that Urban Decay would be selling in China, which requires animal testing (but we got them to change their minds, woo!), I learned that a lot of vegans have no idea about what they are putting in their showers, medicine cabinets, and so forth. A lot of them are confused by animal testing, third party testing, parent companies, it makes you dizzy! A lot of people just give up on trying to navigate cruelty-free bath and beauty. If you are one of those people who doesn’t know where to start, let me give you a tip: shop with all-vegan, indie companies as much as possible! Yes, you will spend a little more money than at the drugstore, but what you put on your body matters just as much as what you put in it.

One of the companies you should definitely start with is Strawberry Hedgehog. Not just for the reasons mentioned above, but because Tracy makes beautiful, delicious smelling soaps (and a large variety to boot), scrubs, moisturizers, and now deodorant! Finding vegan, natural deodorant that works worth anything is definitely a challenge. Since I haven’t tried the deodorant, I went over to the most trusted source for Strawberry Hedgehog product reviews, Vegan Beauty Review. This is what Sunny had to say:

Why I love this deodorant above all others:

It comes in a jar—SO much easier to apply (compared to similar-ingredient “stick” versions which are crazy crumbly)
I tried the Peaceful Person deodoro (thanks, Tracy), and the beautiful and relaxing lavender-scented concoction seriously worked like nothing I’ve ever tried before (and I’m a stinky beast). It even out-performed Lavanila as far as its long lastingness goes. I was skeptical, too (the ingredients seemed too simple)… but it turned out to be simply amazing! My arm pits and I are in awe. And I wanna say, that granted Tracy of Strawberry Hedgehog is my homegirl, I am 100% keeping s–t real with y’all. You will NOT stink if you rock this stuff. If I’m wrong, you can b—h-slap me over the internet. 😉
You’ll never have to worry about pit stains on your clothing, clogged pores, toxic ingredients seeping into your skin, etc. when you make the switch to natural deodorant. Whatever you do, ditch the conventional name brands you’ve been buying at the store. They are all evil.



Tracy has offered up two prizes today for two lucky winners: one jar of the deodorant (your choice of either Femme Fatale, Strong Man, or Peaceful Person), and any three bars from her top 10 scents (pictured above). To enter, simply comment here and tell me what your favorite scent is (it can be food!), and which prize you would want. US only, a winner will be picked tomorrow (the 17th) at 4 pm CST.

Giveaway: Cookin’ Crunk

Giveaway: Cookin’ Crunk

Comments 149 comments

Our winner, a person after my own stomach!

Rushi: I love fried okra, i love it so much!

Check your email!

When I was trying to decide who to contact about giveaways based on what I thought people would be most interested in winning, Cookin’ Crunk immediately sprung to mind. Not just because Bianca is a popular and well liked vegan blogger, but because I have been hearing rumblings about this book for what seems like years. If you’ve read her blog for awhile, you’ve seen posts referencing ‘my upcoming book’ for awhile, so I think it’s safe to say that Cookin’ Crunk has been a highly anticipated book!

If you don’t know, the most widely accepted definition of ‘crunk’ is ‘to get excited’ (it’s also used as a synonym for getting drunk and/or high, but please do not try to smoke this book). I haven’t had a chance to pick up a copy yet, but after following Vegan Crunk for over a year and seeing pictures of a lot of the dishes featured in the book, I am definitely excited to get my hands on some authentic vegan southern recipes! For an in-depth review, Joni has you covered. If you can’t wait to win a copy, you can pick it up at your local bookstore or on the publisher’s website!

Book Publishing Co. has offered to send one lucky reader a copy of Cookin’ Crunk! To enter, simply comment here, telling me what your favorite (vegan) southern dish is. This one is open to US and Canada, because I am so late putting it up I will draw a winner tomorrow, October 16th, at 6 pm EST.

And while you’re at it, why don’t you go on over to Vegan Crunk and check out Bianca’s sandwichy MoFo theme and wish her happy birthday?