Ok promsters, so we heard you all liked the coconut bacon we made. And being the loving organizing committee that we are, we’re giving you the recipe!

Photo taken by Michelle Lee

The recipe is based on the recipe here, with only a few small changes.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups unsweetened large flake coconut
  
• 1/4 cup gluten-free soy sauce
  
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 tablespoon liquid smoke (hickory flavour works good here too)
• 3 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  
• 1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• black pepper

Steps:

1. Mix together all the ingredients (except the coconut ) until emulsified.

2. Put your coconut in a closable container. Pour the marinade over, put the lid tightly on, and shake, gently, to make sure every piece of coconut has marinade on it.

3. Put the container in the fridge and forget about it for at least 24 hours.

4. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees C (NOTE: The original recipe says 350 and this burned the crap out of my bacon the first time and let me tell you, I was such a sad panda).

5. If your cookie-sheets are well used and blackened like mine, cover them with parchment paper. Pour the coconut with marinade onto the sheets, and spread out as much as possible.

6. Bake for 20-30 minutes. This is important – take the bacon out and stir it really well every 10 minutes. The edges will cook first. Start considering taking the bacon out at 20 minutes, based on how dark it is and how much you can smell it. It crisps up once it’s been out of the oven, so don’t expect it to be super crisp immediately. And most importantly – do not package it up until it’s all the way cool or it will get soggy again and you will again be a sad panda.

7. This keeps in the fridge for as long as you need it to.

At Vegan Prom HQ we believe that all Superheroes deserve a theme song as part of their “saving the day” repertoire. Since Daiya swooped in and became our top spot sponsor this year we decided to have one commissioned just for them.  It seems fitting that they should get this incredible song for all the amazing work they do on behalf of us non-dairy eating folks,  I mean seriously, they brought out three more scrumptious food products this week!

Written, directed, performed and edited by the incredible Jenni Rempel (who is a Superhero in her own right) we are so proud and excited to introduce you to the first ever Incredible Superhero Daiya Theme Song!  It’s so catchy you’ll be singing it for days!

- Melissa

So lets talk hero songs. What gets your heroic heart beating?

I’m not your hero – Tegan and Sara

It’s almost like they knew about prom and wrote a song just for us! Ok ok not really. But this song off Tegan and Sara’s new album is really good. Also appropriate for this post! win/win, really.

Wonderboy – Tenacious D

Wonderboy is the superhero we all want to be…

Holding out for a hero – Bonnie Tyler

The song that sparked the idea for this post! She’s so earnest! So serious! So 80s!

Superhero – Cher Lloyd

I don’t know what it is about Cher Lloyd but I adore her. She’s so cute and UK-rappy.

Heroes – David Bowie

No matter what people think about what David Bowie is doing now, he did some amazing songs throughout his career. This is one of them.

Iron Man – Black Sabbath

Of course this wasn’t originally written about Iron Man the superhero, but now they are permanently linked in my brain. Plus the song is just plain bad-ass.

Superman – REM

Believe it or not this is actually a cover of a 1969 song by a Texas band called the Clique. Michael Stipe didn’t want to cover the song, so instead bassist Mike Mills took over as lead vocalist for this track. I didn’t know if I wanted to include it, but it’s been stuck in my head since last week, so I couldn’t help but share that with you all, promsters.

Don’t forget you can request songs from our DJ even before you get to prom! Go to our Music Request page with all your musical needs. See you tomorrow, promsters!

~Lisa

Hey, Promsters! Did you know that the talented and lovely Jenni Rempel is our photo booth photographer again this year? I’m pretty excited to get some shots taken with my date and the rest of the amazing vegan prom team. If you’re like me though, you freeze up when it’s time to say “Daiya” for the camera. This time I thought I’d do a little research on some possible superhero poses to strike when it’s my turn.

The “They’re Out of Nutritional Yeast!” Pose.

This one is pretty easy. Simply channel all the anguish and despair you feel when you’ve got everything on your grocery list but the nooch, and all you find when you go to grab some is an empty spot and some dusty yellow powder that won’t even season your spaghetti. Arms up, eyes to the sky, mouth open in rage. For good measure feel free to scream, “Whyyyyyyyyyy?!” Your fellow promsters will understand your pain all too well.

The “Last Vegan Dish at an Omni Potluck” Pose.

We’ve all been there haven’t we, friends? You brought your favourite snack to a work potluck and you’re the only vegan there. Sure there’ll be a platter of veggies that you can munch on, and there might be some crackers, but yours is the only guaranteed vegan dish, and it’s your favourite, you made it yourself after all! All you have to do for this pose is imagine that there’s only a tiny portion left and a lovely, but misguided, coworker is making moves in its direction. Legs in a sprint position, arms out to knock over any obstacle and run, hungry vegan! Run!

The “Bacon is Not a Valid Argument” Pose

Am I right, friends? “I’d go veggie but bacon is so tasty!” How many times have you heard that one? Maybe you’re at a family dinner, or even just chatting with a cashier at the check-out.  For this pose you’ll need to stick out your arm forcefully, hand up straight. If you can get your hair to do that electric flowy thing as well, all the better!

The “But Where do You Get Your Protein?” Pose

Do I even need to go into a scenario for this one? Simply pretend It’s the 10th, 50th, or 100th time you’ve been asked this question. Throw your head back and pull some hair like you’ve always wanted to do. You’re safe here.

 The “Daiya is Coming out with Three New Product Lines” Pose

I don’t know about you, promsters, but this is the exact pose I made when I read that Daiya is going to be selling cream cheese, cheese slices and gluten-free pizza. Legs lunged out, both arms pumping in the air in glee. I may have even shouted “Yes, yes, yes!” Go ahead and try it. I bet it’ll feel pretty darn good.

There you go, friends. Practice in front of the mirror in your costume or prom gear and see how naturally they come. If you’ve got any great go-to photo booth poses, feel free to share in the comments!

 ~ Sabrina

Vegan Prom Vancouver is very happy to have worked closely with these two wonderful businesses to bring you an even more spectacular Prom experience!  As part of our Sidekick Stars Sponsor Level Famous Foods and New World Natural Foods are helping us to tantalize Prom goers taste buds.  Here’s a little bit more info on these two Super Companies:

Vancouver has long been famous for its healthy lifestyle, and food has always been a huge part of that. Long before the supermarket, “big box” and natural food chain stores, Famous Foods was already a central fixture on Vancouver’s natural food map.

Famous Foods carries a huge selection of organic products, specialty and bulk products, that include flour, grains, beans, spices, herbs, pasta, snacks also their produce department has a wide range of organic and non-organic selections and most importantly they carry vegan and vegetarian-friendly fare!

At New World, they create DELICIOUSLY healthy everyday food items that promote the long term health of consumers. New World products mean: no irradiation, no preservatives, no additives, no colorings, no genetically engineered ingredients, and nutritious foods for the health and environmentally conscious consumers.

By sourcing high quality organic and natural ingredients, New World ensures nothing extra needs to be added during processing. Through natural processing methods, New World is able to retain the natural flavors of the selected whole ingredients used in the products. For this reason, the rich flavor of New World products is not dependant on excessive amounts of sugar or salt. In fact, the majority of New World products uses natural sweeteners and is very low in sodium. The result is high quality foods that are free of artificial food coloring, flavoring, stabilizers, synthetic preservatives and genetically modified ingredients.

- Melissa

I don’t know about you, but I’m not so much of a dresser-upper. I tend towards jeans and t-shirts, and when I dress up, I wear my nice jeans. Sometimes, I add a hat. So planning a costume for prom hasn’t really included some of the things my friends are talking about. A diadem? Pfft. Too flashy for me. Shiny fabric? Blinding! Make boots out of duct tape, are you kidding? That sounds like work.

So for the casual superhero like me, what’s there to do?

Well I could always just buy a tshirt with a superhero on it.

I gotta tell you that www.superherostuff.com is pretty awesome. I enjoyed looking through the pages and pages of superhero clothing they have. They have t-shirts for superheroes we all know plus ones I haven’t thought of in ages, including Mighty Mouse and Thundercats. They ALSO have underwear and pajamas. Talk about comfortable style!

 But since I won’t have time to order from them (I’m also a bit of a last minute costume creator) I was toodling around on the internets when I found this blog post about casual superheroes. It makes sense that heroes can wear pretty much whatever they want. I could always find myself some cool goggles and say I’m Anya Corazon.

And of course there’s always the fallback of being incognito. Almost every superhero has a civilian alias – maybe I’ll just wear my nice jeans and say it’s my secret identity.

~Lisa

We asked Daiya if they wanted to post anything on our blog. Things are a little busy for them right now, but they did bust out this interesting little post just for us. With a teasing picture even! ~Lisa

We’re sure that all the Vegan Prom attendees are getting excited for Saturday’s night of dancing, music, food and prizes!  The entire Daiya team is also buzzing with excitement at our office in East Vancouver, but sadly we will not be able to attend this year’s Vegan Prom.  We’re all working at maximum capacity in preparation for our biggest show of the year, the Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, which takes place this weekend.

You may be wondering why this show should be of interest to you, and we’ll tell you why…

This is the place where we launched the Daiya Shreds back in 2009. This is also the place where we launched the Daiya Wedges in 2012. And this year we are so happy to announce that we will be launching not one, not two, but THREE new product lines. That means there are 10 new Daiya products coming your way soon! All the cheesy details about our new products will be announced this week so be sure to keep an eye on our Facebook page for announcements.

We hope you will all have a fantastic time at the Vegan Prom this weekend! We’ll be thinking of you!

Today’s post courtesy of the wonderfully talented L Matthews, aka The Tasty Vegan

Not all foods are created equal… some are Superfoods! And, guess what? Most foods classed as superfoods are vegan, so your animal-saving, policy-changing, laser beam-shooting superhero antics can all be done using the power of vegan superfoods. What makes a food super? Read on, dear vegan, read on.

We don’t know if good old Perry at the Daily Planet would hold the front page to crown carrots the new superfoods, or boast berries’ merits but most newspaper editors love a good hyperbolic headline. Many superfoods are declared such after a new study shows an association with some significant health benefit or when it is realised that they contain a huge amount of a specific nutrient known to be healthy.

It might seem that some superfoods are added to the list because they’re oddly named and make those in the know sound smarter than everyone else (yeah, I’m looking at you quinoa and açaí). Not all superfoods are tongue-twisters, though, so to keep all you vegan superheroes effervescing with good health, we’ve rounded up a few of those near and dear to the Vegan Prom organisers. We’ll start with the Superman of superfoods…

Kale!

Kale, kale, kale. If there was ever a food that captured popular vegan attention it is the mighty Captain Kale. Juice it, steam it, eat it straight from the plant (like I do, nom). Kale is all the kinds of awesome and all nutritionists agree (see references below. BAM!).

In a study by Prior, et al (2000), kale was found to have a higher antioxidant capacity (at least on the measure used) than all the other vegetables vying for the superfood crown. Why do we love kale so? This leafy green (or purple) plant is a great source of vitamin C, calcium, potassium, carotenoids, bioflavonoids and fibre, making it healthy for the heart, the bones, the brain, the nervous system and for creating fine silk-like threads to shoot from your hands at skyscrapers on the daily commute (Oh, you still take the Skytrain?).

Walnuts

Looking for a little proteinaceous, oil-rich addition to your vegan salad? Walnuts are where it’s at. These nuts are one of many classed as superfoods but we vegans love them because they are an especially great source of omega 3 that helps reduce inflammation, encourages good brain function and keeps the immune system in top nick.

With a powerful punch of protein in just a handful of walnuts, and a decent amount of calcium and magnesium, walnuts are the perfect versatile store cupboard nut. Grind them up with some nooch for homemade vegan Parmesan (and make kale chips!), chop them up and mix with avocado for a rich and tasty vegan sandwich topping, bake them into vegan banana bread or cookies, or just snack on them for a healthy hit of omega 3.

Blueberries

A superfood you can make muffins with? Yes please. Blueberries outperform almost every other fruit when it comes to antioxidant capacity, meaning that these little berries are the perfect addition to your morning smoothie (aim for around half a cup a day). Choose darker coloured, organic fruit for a higher concentration of proanthocyanidins and other healthy compounds.

The fabulous purply-blue colour of blueberries is a result of the plant pigments called carotenoids. We might think of carrots when we think of carotenoids but these compounds are found all over the plant kingdom turning foods orange, purple, red, blue and a host of other colours when combined with other pigments and substances like chlorophyll. Carotenoids protect cells from free radical damage and promote healthy immune system function, allowing vegans to fight off invading bacteria and viruses. Pow!

Cherries

Oh, how I long for cherry season. If you’re lucky enough to travel the Okanagan in summer, take a cooler and pile high those boxes of fresh cherries (then bring them to me, please). Cherries have long been espoused as a natural remedy for gout and arthritis and are generally great for health as they can lower inflammation in the body and help protect cells against oxidation. Montmorency cherries have been studied more than most and appear to offer a little extra Kapow! when it comes to relieving joint pain. Again, choose organic, darker coloured fruit a these tend to be higher in protective nutrients.

And a Nice Cup of Tea to Finish

If you’re anything like me, tea is a staple food. Good old black tea is high in polyphenols and mood-enhancing theobromine and has been associated with a cholesterol-reducing effect. Fact: “Everything’s better after a nice cup of tea.” While black tea can block absorption of a few nutrients, such as iron and zinc, due to its tannin levels, this healthy beverage can still be enjoyed several times a day away from meals rich in these minerals. Rich in antioxidants for cellular protection, tea may have an unwanted (for some) caffeine boost but you can always choose green tea for less caffeine and added health benefits of epigallocatechin gallate (ECGC) which can fight sepsis and lower inflammation.

Vegan superfoods like these can help temper your risk of heart disease, cancer and diabetes, and even put you in a good mood with a (blueberry smoothie) smile on your face. Use your superpowered eyeballs to play ‘spot the superfood’ at Vegan Prom this year and win the extraordinary prize of being a healthy vegan superhero fighting the good fight everywhere.

References

Zhang Y, Neogi T, Chen C, Chaisson C, Hunter DJ, Choi HK., Cherry consumption and decreased risk of recurrent gout attacks, Arthritis Rheum. 2012 Dec;64(12):4004-11. doi: 10.1002/art.34677.

Prior RL, Cao G, Prior RL, Cao G., Analysis of botanicals and dietary supplements for antioxidant capacity: a review, J AOAC Int. 2000 Jul-Aug;83(4):950-6.

Kim A, Chiu A, Barone MK, Avino D, Wang F, Coleman CI, Phung OJ., Green tea catechins decrease total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol: a systematic review and meta-analysis, J Am Diet Assoc. 2011 Nov;111(11):1720-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jada.2011.08.009.

L Matthews is a vegan nutritionist, blogger and copywriter who drinks lots of tea while witnessing the incredible super-powers of the Vegan Prom organising committee.

When we first came up with this year’s amazing theme for prom we searched the internet high and low for a superhero name generator, and while we stumbled across some broken links and some pretty decent stuff, nothing tickled our little veggie-loving hearts the way we hoped it would.

That’s when we decided to create our very own Vegan Superhero Name Generator just for you, Promsters, because we love you that much! We truly do. So we put our heads together and brainstormed some of our favourite things about being vegan, and maybe a few things about ourselves that make us laugh. We hope they make you laugh too, whether you are Commander Protein or Master Cupcake!

-Sabrina (aka The Dark Kale)