I think I've discovered the next big thing in celebrity chefs!
(Warning there's a little bit of bad language in this recipe!)

And I'm totally having Pad Thai for dinner now…
I just have to put on my make up and pleathers first!

What do you reckon Vegan Black Metal Chef should make next?

Have you heard? Ricky Ponting is retiring as captain of the Aussie cricket team.

To mark the occasion the 7PM Project are running a poll asking "What will Ponting's captaincy be most remembered for?". I thought it was amusing that "a new world record for commercial endorsements" was out in front in the poll. Tbh, there's not a lot Ponting hasn't endorsed: milk, deoderant, oil, vitamins, banks, beer, sunglasses, breakfast cereal... In fact, I heard that he tried to drop the 'y' from his name to make himself more marketable!

But what really bugs me is the fact that the Australian Cricket team's official sponsor is KFC!

Even setting aside the fact they are promoting a company that confines millions of birds in factory farms, how can a team of elite atheletes sell food that is only going to add to the problems of childhood obesity, heart disease, etc? If you ask me that's just not cricket!

A few weeks ago it was reported that another cricketing great, Stuart McGill refused to promote KFC when he was on the Aussie cricket team. He said: "I don’t think you can have any of us [cricketers] advertising junk food to be honest. ... It’s just wrong in so many ways." What a top bloke!

Wouldn't it be nice if a few more cricketers took a leaf out of Stuart McGill's book and refused to promote unhealthy food; or better yet, followed Greg Chappell's lead and cut out cruelty by going vegan!

What do you think of athletes promoting junk food?

Have you heard? They're predicting that the current generation of Aussie teenagers will be the first to have a shorter life expectancy. Isn't that disturbing!

The recent study by the Cancer Council and Heart Foundation estimates that 1 in 4 highschool students are overweight or obese - putting them at greater risk of heart disease, cancer and other chronic illnesses. (btw, this cartoon does a great job of illustrating the problem)

I don't get it! We know the facts and people still eat junk! I mean, we know that unhealthy meat-centric diets have been linked to heart disease, strokes, diabetes, cancer - our country's top killers. We know that on average vegetarians and vegans are less likely to be overweight or obese, and have a longer life expectancy than meat eaters. We know that most fast food is junk, and is bad for us and the environment. Yet Australia is one of the largest countries in the world (and I'm not talking about the size of our land mass) and it seems we may only be getting larger

Speaking of fast food and junk, this recent ad takes an interesting approach to trying to combat the problem of childhood obesity:

What do you think of the ad? How do you feel about the prediction that the next gen might be the first to live a shorter life? Is this the scariest news you've heard all day? Leave a comment below!

It seems even Jamie Oliver thought World Veg Week was worth celebrating! The Naked Chef has announced plans to publish "one big massive, mammoth" vegetarian cookbook! I can hear my pots and pans rattling as we speak!

This will be his 17th cookbook and the reason it's going to be so huge is because it incorporates a lot of recipes from his previous 16 books which he says are around 60-65% vegetarian anyway. Who knew? I had a quick squiz at his website, and sure enough the list of vegetarian recipes was miles longer than the others – Nice one Jamie!

You may know that in the past this culinary connoisseur has raised awareness on the horrific conditions animals endure inside factory farms in his TV specials 'Jamie's Fowl Dinners' and 'Jamie Saves Our Bacon', and this book may be just the thing to convince some fence-sitting meat-eaters how simple it is to go veg for life!

According to Jamie, "Vegetarian as a general concept is a brilliant thing. We’ve got to stop eating so much meat. We are eating too much meat.”

We most certainly are. Worse still, is that while innocent animals are paying the ultimate price for our appetites, we are harming the planet and compromising our own health at the same time. So the more veg cookbooks, the better!

I hope this new cookbook flies off the shelves Harry Potter style, outselling all Jamie's other books. That might prove that he could ditch the meat for good and keep everyone (including the animals) happy!

…Hand me the wooden spoon!

What did you have to eat on Monday? I hope it was tasty, green and animal friendly ;)

I'm happy to say that the people of San Francisco and Washington DC are being encouraged to eat green every Monday! The city councils of both these US cities have decided to beef up their environmental stance, by cutting out the cow (and chicken, and pig... you get the idea), and promoting Meat Free Mondays.

The problem is that most people don't realise that eating meat is about as green as hunting wildlife in an SUV! If you've watched Meat the Truth then you know that raising livestock produces more greenhouse gases than all the world's transport combined. Not to mention being a major contributor to species extinction, scarcity of water and all sorts of pollution. I mean, run off fertilisers and excrement from animal industries was killing plenty of wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico well before BP botched things up. (ever heard of a dead zone?)

So it's exciting to see cities encouraging their citizens to eat for a healthier planet every Monday. San Fran and Washington join the Baltimore school system, the original Hard Rock Cafe (in London) and the Belgian city of Ghent in promoting a meat free day once a week to save the planet. Sydney City Council also gave the campaign a plug last year (fingers crossed they'll join these others in officially adopting the initiative).

UPDATE: And now Cape Town has become the first African city to promote a meat-free day each week as well. Yay!

So, what are you gonna have for dinner on Monday? I think I might try this vegan shepherd's pie :)

I just learned that in Taiwan if a person wants to thank Buddha for granting a wish, they buy a stranger a vegetarian meal. It's not unusual for people to also do this just to gain peace of mind. Pretty cool huh?

Well, one mysterious stranger on a motorbike has gone one better than this (or should that be 9,999 better?). He handed over the equivalent of $17,000 to the owner of Taipei's Lotus Heart Vegetarian Restaurant, asked him to feed the public and rode off into the sunset! His peace of mind must be through the roof!

This is enough money for 10,000 vegetarian meals! Restaurant owner, Hsu Min-long, has already given free veg meals to low-income families and children from the local orphanage, but there is still so much money left that he will cook free veg meals from 11am to 9pm for eight consecutive Sundays!

What a fabulous idea from a person who must have the most peaceful mind in all of Taiwan now. I can't think of many more effective ways to spend a lazy 17 grand, than by having people taste for themselves how amazing veg food can be and maybe sticking with it for life!

But then, you don't need 17 grand to share great veg food with friends. So why not score some good karma for yourself by cooking up a veg feast for your friends?

Oh, how I wish that compassionate biker and best pal of Buddha would ride into Adelaide and share the love between Joy Discovery, Bliss Organic or Zenhouse Yum Cha so I could eat delicious veg food for free!

What would you do with a spare $17,000? Which restaurant do you wish the anonymous giver would visit?

So I just went out and saw a great movie. I didn't feel much like eating the popcorn though (I'll tell you why in a sec). Believe me, you MUST see Food, Inc. SO it's lucky that we've got 5 double passes to give away!

I don't think I need to tell you how cruel factory farms are. In fact, I'm sure you tell other people about this all the time. And no doubt you've come across at least one person who seemed not to care. Well, maybe they'd care if they knew they might literally be eating sh!t!

I've had the misfortune of visiting a feedlot. I saw how they pile up the dung in the middle of each pen to provide – get this – "enrichment for the cows"! Many of the cows I've seen in feedlots were caked in each others faeces from nose to tail, so it's really no surprise that some of that finds its stinky way into the meat people eat. I know... YUCK! It sounds like I'm making this up, I wish I was. But this is actually a reality! In fact, Food, Inc. features a 2 year old, who died after eating a hamburger infected with E.coli from traces of cow dung in the meat.

Oh yeah, the popcorn. I learnt today that if the massive amount of corn grown isn't used for livestock, it's used for nearly everything else. As high-fructose corn syrup, you can find it in cakes, cheese, yoghurt, Coca-Cola, bread, orange juice, even in batteries and charcoal. They grow too much corn, because of government subsidies and so they end up putting it in charcoal?!? Don't they realise there are people starving in Africa!? And here we all are wondering why people make corny puns, we can't help it - there's an excess of corn to go round!

Even if you've already made the healthy switch to being veg or vegan, there is still so much to learn about the food you consume. There are moments in this film that will have you throwing that popcorn at the screen in frustration, but it's an excellent film and well worth checking out!

If you care about animals, people, the environment or yourself, this film is a must see. And here's how you could WIN a free double pass: Leave a comment below to tell us what makes you hungry for change and you could win! The competition ends next Monday (31/05/10), so be quick if you don't want to miss out!

UPDATE: Congrats to the winners who each get a double pass to see this amazing movie. Well done to sarahwithanh27, Carly, Sammy, Sabavana and Nikkikats. Enjoy watching Food, Inc. (with or without the popcorn)!

I don't know about you but I've always steered clear of 'shoot em up' computer games. Especially ones that glorify killing innocent animals like in Big Buck Hunter. There's one of them at my local pizza place. Nothing turns me off more than seeing someone order a meatlovers pizza before putting a dollar in that gory hunting game to simulate slaughtering deer while they wait for their factory farmed ham to cook on a doughy base. It doesn't make you look tough, boys.

So you can imagine my sheer delight when I met …Tofu Hunter!!

You can only progress through this game by meeting your tofu quota, that's a lesson for life I say! Nabbing the soy milk buys you extra time and you get bonuses for seeking out tofu dogs and seitan birds. Who needs a dietician with messages like this from tofu hunters?

Via AdultSwim

It's definitely a 'shoot em up' game, but to me it does represent something more. Because each time someone hunts out the tofu or veggie dogs in the supermarket and buys that over meat, it's a little step closer to ending the misery of animals who are confined for life on factory farms.

And as for my local pizza place, imagine someone ordering a vegie pizza then shooting tofu while they wait …let me hear you ladies, now that's manly!! Give me a Tofu Hunter any day!

Let's see who can get the highest score!

While saving animals doesn't often appear at the top of governments' agendas, it is starting to sneak in by way of "Green Living"! In a recent newsletter from Sydney City Council I noticed they are promoting Meat Free Mondays.

Meat Free Mondays is a global campaign encouraging people to help curb climate change by having at least one meat-free day per week. If you think this sounds like a great idea, then you're in good company! The campaign already has the support of Paul McCartney, Richard Branson, Moby and the head of the International Panel on Climate Change (ie. the guy who advises the UN on all things climatey).

Governments promoting vegetarianism really makes me all goose-pimply with excitement. And this story gets better! Cause Sydney's not the only city either. In May, the Belgian city of Ghent launched a brilliant initiative to urge the whole city to go vegetarian every Thursday.

If you think Sydney Council is on a winning idea, then why not write to your school/uni/workplace to encourage them to combat climate change too and adopt Meat Free Mondays. Just think of the lives saved if they do!

So whenever you go shopping to stock up on mouth-watering cruelty-free food, do you spend more time than you'd like trying to ignore the icky meat, egg, and dairy-laden products that clutter the supermarket shelves in your quest to find those delightful dairy-free chocolate bars, meat-free mince and eggless mayonnaise? I know I do, especially when I visit a new supermarket that I don't know very well!

Don't you just wish shops would stick big, eye-catching signs up quickly drawing your attention to all the amazing vegetarian and vegan goodies that they sell? Well, one supermarket in Adelaide has done just that! Yep, apparently Foodworks in Glenelg have figured out that more and more people are wanting to fill their shopping trolleys without contributing to animal cruelty and environmental destruction and so they have posted big signs directing shoppers to the amazing cruelty-free food that they stock. Woot!!

Tofutti cheese, pig-friendly 'bacon', meat-free schnitzels, vegan whipped cream, vegetarian 'prawns', to-die-for dairy-free icecream ... yum!! :-) If you're in Adelaide make sure you check this place out on Jetty Rd, Glenelg. And if not, post a comment below and tell everyone where your favourite veg-friendly shop is!

What was in your lunch box today? How would veggie pizza with whole grain crust, rice and beans, veggie subs, and lentil sauce with pasta sound for lunch? According to the US School Nutrition Association that's the veg options that are most popular at US schools. I'll have one of each thanks!

Their recent survey found that almost 2 out of 3 US schools have regular veg options on offer. I don't know about you but my school tuckshop had mostly meat pies, sausage rolls and sweets (ok! so you won't hear me complaining about sweets :P).

It's about time we had more veg options in schools here as well! And it seems I'm not the only one who thinks so. The World Cancer Research Fund is now urging parents not to pack their kids' lunchboxes with ham and other processed meats. This follows a report by them earlier this year in which they concluded: "The scientific evidence linking processed meat [ie. ham, bacon, salami, etc] and bowel cancer shows that the best amount to eat is none at all." Go WCRF!

What's your school's veg tuckshop selection like? Might be a good time to suggest they add a few more options!

There are heaps of reasons not to eat chicken – for your health, for the environment or for the animals. For me, the fact that chicks are forced to grow much faster than their bodies can cope, with some dying from organ failure and others starving to death, unable to lift their own body weight, was always reason enough not to eat them. But now I think this one takes the cake...

Number one reason not to eat chicken: Because your housemate might just douse you in boiling oil!

Yep, the Herald Sun has reported that a dispute over Nando's chicken has ended in a man having boiling oil poured over him in his sleep. Sure, I'd be pretty annoyed if you ate all of my delicious mock chicken, but as far as I’m concerned violence has no place on or off my plate.

So anyway, what vegan treat do you find so delicious it’s just impossible to share?

Earlier in the week we appealed to the chocolate admirers out there with the promise of free Constant Craving Truffles. So began the hunt for Unleashed's most worthy chocoholic. But sheesh – you didn't make it easy on us – the competition was fierce! After reading the responses from so many worthy candidates, we were so overwhelmed by the heartfelt pleas for chocolate that we realised we couldn't choose just one winner...

So it's time to congratulate our two most worthy chocoholics, Matt.Y, who promises to give the chockies to his Mum (we want photographic evidence, Matt), and chaha33, the super-keen-vegan-cocoa-bean-eating-poetry-machine! Congratulations Matt.Y and chacha33 – your bundle of 10 Constant Craving Truffles are zooming from the Unleashed office to your doorstep right now! But that's not all. We've also thrown in some free stickers for good measure :-)

In truth we believe everybody deserves chocolate, and really there's no reason to miss out. If all this chocolate-talk has you salivating at your keyboard, then follow me to the Unleashed shop where you can pick up your own bag of truffles for just $10 (or $20 if you're really serious). All the money raised through the shop goes towards helping animals and fighting animal cruelty.

And just for you lovely folks, postage is free :-)

I can hardly contain my excitement as I write this... There has been so much chatter about dairy-free chocolate on the forum recently that we thought we would share the love even further and give away some vegan chocolate.

That's right – FREE CHOCOLATE!

In fact, we've all gone a little chocolate-mad with two new chocolate gift packs for sale in the Unleashed shop. And believe me, there's a good reason they call them 'Constant Craving' truffles. If you want to impress someone, I promise you, the only thing you'll ever need to do is get them some of these...

Constant Craving Truffles - 5 pack ($10)

Constant Craving Truffles - 10 pack ($20)

Each pack includes five dreamy varieties including Jaffa Delight, Coffee, Scorched Almond, Coconut, and Apricot Dream.

Ok ok ok, back to the free chocolate :-) If you want to get your hands on free pack of these melt-in-your-mouth truffles simply leave a comment below and tell us why you deserve them. We'll send the most worthy candidate a chock-filled gift to satiate those constant cravings...

Update: most worthy chocoholics announced! Click here to find out who won.

Have you been desperately wanting to make a difference and help animals but been too strapped for cash to donate? Well here’s your chance to help!

If you haven’t already seen, NextStop is donating $10 to Animals Australia every time a guide is posted in "Great Spots for Vegetarians & Vegans - Australia"

This doesn’t just have to be a restaurant; it can be a store, market, café… ANY place that is vegetarian/vegan friendly that you love. Surely everyone can think of 5 little places they’ve been to that fit this category!?!

This is turning into such a great resource, I know I’m going to be checking out a lot of the places I didn’t know existed. So take 5 minutes to spread the word about hot vego spots in your town and help us kick ass for the animals!

Thanks so much to everyone who has already posted a guide, we have raised $300 so far!!! Just 20 more guides needed to reach the $500 goal!!!

Alright, here's a treat you'll be jumping up and down about. A recipe for vegan cupcakes!

A couple of weeks ago we ran a stall at the Petacular pet expo in Brisbane. The wonderful volunteer, Kate, offered to bake vegan cupcakes for the day... So of course we said yes yes yes!

The cupcakes looked and tasted amazing! Not surprisingly, they went down a treat and many a cupcake muncher marvelled at the fact that no animals were harmed in the making of these delectible treats.

When highlighting the cruelty of the egg and dairy industries, nothing promotes cruelty free living quite like cupcake goodness. So it's time, as Kate would say, to "share the cupcake love"!

This cupcake concoction was even given the thumbs up by punk heroes Propagandhi. Kate's hubby plays in the Brissie band Bad Day Down, who supported Propagandhi on their recent visit to Australia. On tour, Kate soon assumed the role of official cupcake cooker. But she isn't just a superstar in the kitchen. Check out this photo of her singing on stage with Propagandhi at their Melbourne show. (btw, keep your eyes out for more from us on Propagandhi soon)

Anyway, back to the important business of cupcakes. Here for your pleasure, is the undisputed best cupcake recipe in the world (or at least so claims Kate): Click here for the cupcake-a-licious recipe.

Now don't be greedy! Make sure you share your amazing cruelty free creations with all your friends and family to spread the word about how easy it is to be sweet to animals.

If you're as obsessive about a mug of scalding hot liquid as I am, you'll understand why I'm giddy with delight at discovering Di Bella's coffee today...

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with coffee shops... only because you still occasionally find one that's stuck in the dark ages and hasn't heard of soy milk—so I was reminded this morning (thanks a bunch, Brewbakers). Fair to say, these places tend to lose a lot of customers (like me). But when you need a coffee, you need a coffee. Right?

My coffee expedition led me to Di Bella's, where I was not only offered an ultra-smooth velvety soy latte, but I wasn't charged for the privilege of sparing the life of a baby cow!

Seriously, we live in a topsy-turvy world where most cafes try to squeeze an extra 50 cents out of you for a dash of soy milk, when it's no secret that the dairy industry is a vastly inefficient machine, squandering precious resources, damaging the environment—and not to mention—causing immense pain, suffering and death to countless innocent cows. In the end you can't really put a dollar figure on the damage (or absurdity) caused by people drinking milk meant for baby cows.

But Di Bella's didn't stop there. Their brews are all fair-trade, AND they also give out free vegan Belgian spice biscuits with their coffees! What more could a coffee lover hope for??

What's your favourite cup? Or, what's the lamest coffee shop experience you've had? Share your comments below!

When our good friends at PBS radio station contacted us saying that they were organising a fundraiser on Christmas eve, and they wanted Unleashed to run a table and bbq at the event, we just couldn't resist. In the good spirit of Christmas, we loaded up the car with veggie snags, and goodies and headed to The Arthouse for a night to remember.

Celebrating Christmas is great. Celebrating Christmas with a whole bunch of good mates, vegan food and Trial Kennedy and Capeside thrashin' out the tunes is greater! And to top it off Luke from The Hot Lies donned his chef's hat to help on the barbie.

If you haven't caught Trial Kennedy, then they're a name to remember. These guys are almost as hot as a Christmas day in Aus.

So that was our Chrissy feast. Tell us about yours. What cruelty free goodies did you whip for the Christmas season?