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Celebrity news: Jessica Chastain is vegan!   »

In the last three days I’ve watched both The Tree of Life and The Help — do you know what the common denominator is? Actually there’s two: Both were nominated for Oscars, and both feature Jessica Chastain! Who happens to be a vegan! How do I know this, you ask? I totally internet stalked wiki-ed her after I watched The Help. It’s my thing!

I found all sorts of cute interviews and articles about her veganism, which I was hoping we could bond over.

Here’s an interview with her and Octavia Spencer, in which Jessica talks about the vegan fried “chicken” she ate in the The Help, as well as the vegan meal she cooked for Octavia.

A list of 25 things about Jessica, including her dream to buy a food truck for her mom, who is a vegan chef! So sweet! Apparently she also get embarrassed when people sing “Happy Birthday” to her. (Me too! But don’t stop — I like the attention.)

She had to gain 15 pounds for her role in The Help, and to do that, she ate tons of soy milk ice cream. Not with a spoon — she microwaved it and drank it. I don’t know how I feel about that, but only because I prefer coconut milk ice cream (and don’t believe in using microwaves cause I’m a hippie).

I hope you enjoyed your vegan celebrity news for the day! Now back to my Us Weekly Mensa flashcards.

Ellen schools Jessica Simpson on Gardein!   »

Can’t see the video? Watch it on Vegansaurus.com!

Look, everyone! It’s Jessica Simpson eating vegan onion rings on the Ellen show! And she’s about to burst! Were you on the edge of your seat wondering if she’d give birth on this segment? I was.

If you aren’t able to stomach the idea of watching this video in its entirety, you can skip to the 1:44 mark. Ellen unveils a bunch of vegan snacks for Jessica and then they discuss Gardein. Oh, Ellen! When are you and Portia opening your vegan restaurant in LA?

Here are a few things I took from this interview:

1. Jessica Simpson knows what a vegan is. That surprised me.
2. Ellen, if Jessica isn’t interested in your Gardein products, I am! I will enjoy them to the fullest (and probably all at once).
3. What is a snoogle?! This is the first I’ve seen and I’m intrigued!
4. Ugh, being so pregnant looks uncomfortable. Not interested! My sister will look like that in September and I shall ridicule her if she cannot pull off eight-inch heels (No I won’t! Neither of us could pull them off EVER, let alone when she’s 8.5 months pregnant!). I bought her some Food For Lovers queso, but she said the morning sickness makes Mexican food sound horrendous. No, sis: I know the baby wants it. Like all the vegan treats I will impose on him/her in the future! Being an aunt will be spectacular!

I just don’t feel like making snarky comments about Jessica Simpson. Maybe the idea of making fun of a massively pregnant woman seems too harsh. Plus, I think she’s kind of adorable and charming pregnant. Don’t worry! I kind of hate myself too.

Forks Over Knives does it again: Kristen Bell goes vegan!  »

Wow, how ridiculous have women’s magazine covers gotten? For goodness’ sake! It’s all “sex, money, and a tight ass!” When we know it should be “sex, money, and vegan lasagna!” #priorities 

I love you, Forks Over Knives! You’ve turned my favorite star vegan! As if Kristen Bell’s sloth encounter video wasn’t great enough, now she is ditching animal byproducts! Dang, I love her! Women’s Health had an interview with Kristen Bell where she dished about her recent conversion to veganism (“dish” is magazine talk):

Leave it to two actors to let a movie change their lives. This documentary, which investigates the relationship between animal-based and processed foods and degenerative diseases, was the catalyst for turning Kristen (a vegetarian since age 11) and Dax (a carnivore) into vegans this past January. “It’s more about the health benefits than the ethics,” she concedes. “But it’s compounded by the fact that I love animals and feel better not eating them.”

Well, maybe she will get a little more educated and take a more ethical stand. But I’ll tell you: I’m still so excited! Dudes, sorry to geek-out on you, but I love Kristen Bell like whoa! Because Veronica Mars is my favorite thing ever. Shut up, it’s the best.

And her man Dax is going vegan too! I’m not afraid to admit that I like him as well. He’s endearing. And I’ll venture to guess he wasn’t actually a “carnivore,” as Women’s Health claims. I’m super glad a “health” magazine doesn’t know the difference between carnivore and omnivore! Now, tell me all about your Easy Abs Diet!

I leave you with this quote of particular relevance to us Vegansaurs: “I have a potty mouth. I’m not afraid to drop an F-bomb. I can love organic tomatoes and swearing—the two aren’t mutually exclusive.” Truer words, Bell, truer words.

Adele is going to give vegetarianism a go! And we’re here to help!  »

Oh-so-lovely songstress Adele is making an effort to go vegetarian! She says that for what’s on the agenda in the year ahead, she has to be “really healthy and stuff like that.” Plus, when she eats meat, she thinks of her dog and sees his little dog eyes. This is incredible news, though of course going vegan would be all the more fantastic. It can be a difficult transition to make, I understand. But, Adele, I’m here to help you. Anything you need, any time of day. Then when you visit San Francisco, I’ll give you the drinking vegan tour of the city! Or you can hire me as your personal chef, whatever works.

1. I understand you don’t like the taste of tofu, that you go so far as to describe it as “rank.” Tofu is not chicken, this much is true. However, when seasoned well, tofu is delicious! I’ll let you borrow my Tofu Xpress and we can marinate blocks of protein together! You must also read Sarah’s guide to making the most out of a tofu scramble: It will change your life.

2. Faux meat and cheese are your friends during this transitional time. Every time I blink, new ones hit the market. Try them all out to find your faves. You don’t have to like them all, it’s OK. I stay as far as I can from Tofurky deli slices and cheddar-flavored Follow Your Heart cheese.

3. Raw chocolate truffles are the BEST. Raw desserts in general, I think, are better than the average vegan treat, except for coconut ice cream, which is delightful.

4. Check out Happy Cow so you know where to eat in every city on your tour. I really should have checked Happy Cow before I went to Reno (as opposed to the drive home), because I subsisted on a salad, a sandwich, and a Lara Bar for two days—not enough food for me. Learn from my mistakes.

5. Barnivore is your new best friend. Use it, download the app, and then go to your nearest pub.

6. Get yourself some vegan cookbooks! Because Vegan with a Vengeance was my first, I am biased in believing it should be every vegan beginner’s guide!

7. I have heard that it is safe and nutritious for doggie companions to go veg as well as humans! You and your pooch can go on this veg journey together, OMG that would be the cutest.

8. Read Vegansaurus! You’ll love us, we are sassy. Like you!

9. I probably will not lose respect for you if you pose for a PETA ad, but personally, I think it’d be amazing if you did work with Farm Sanctuary or Mercy for Animals. Just don’t pull a Ginnifer Goodwin, in which you yell about your veganism only to turn around and bash it on Jimmy Kimmel Live, OK?

Now it’s time for a video, with everyone’s favorite kale-lover, Anderson Cooper! Just kidding; he openly hates kale because like my sister, he has the palate of a six-year-old!
Adele is just stunning in all these clips. Are you getting chills watching her sing? I am!

[photo via Tom and Lorenzo. Who does your makeup, girl? It’s perfection.]

Celebrities love the Alkaline diet. Just go vegan already, you dopes  »

Details has this little sneeze of an article, just a hiccup really, about the popularity of the Alkaline diet with the muscled bo-hunks of Hollywood. Yes! “The hardened Spam tower known as Channing Tatum” (LAWSON) appreciates a daily high-alkaline smoothie, as does Mr. The Dutchess (the Dutke?), Josh Duhamel.

The Alkaline diet seeks to balance the body’s pH levels by eating a diet heavy on “fresh citrus and other low-sugar fruits, vegetables, tubers, nuts, and legumes and avoiding grains, dairy, meat, sugar, alcohol, caffeine and fungi.” The idea is that high-alkaline or alkaline-forming foods are more easily processed by the body.

One might say that this is another way of describing the diet every nutritionist and dietician worth their salt advocates, with the usual terrifying caveats (it’s not a diet if you don’t have to give up at least two foods that make life worth living). One might say that people love pseudoscientific explanations for their choices—“I’m not eating bread because carbs kill!” “I’m not eating sugar because acid!”—but one might also say that if people are eating a plant-based diet and laying off the g-d meat then who cares what kind of nonsense is influencing them to do it.

I don’t understand why people who eschew meat and dairy in favor of beans and greens are eager to call themselves followers of all kinds of scientifically unsupported diets, instead of using the word “vegan.” Bill Clinton isn’t afraid of saying it! Why are you dummies?

[photo by Belinda via Flickr]

Rachel Ray does good for some animals (still cooks others)  »

Look, I’m going to be honest here—I really love Rachael Ray. When I have extra money, I buy her magazine; if I had cable, I’d watch 30 Minute Meals. Her recipes are SO EASY to veganize, and they are quick! I know you all want to make a fast dinner during the work week. Stop hating and start veganizing her simple, yet tasty and creative, recipes! Plus, she didn’t go to culinary school and neither did I. No pretension here!

Anyway, on to something that has to do with animals. Rachael Ray has teamed up with Katherine Heigl to save some dogs! Let’s not talk about how I feel about Katherine Heigl, okay? (Let’s just say that I love Grey’s Anatomy and cry to it every week.)

On her recent show, Rachael Ray donated $150,000 dollars to Katherine Heigl’s animal charity, the Jason Debus Heigl Foundation. It’s all about raising awareness about spaying and neutering dogs. Which reminds me of the only PETA poster I ever loved (and even owned, but sadly lost in some move between apartments in Chicago):

Not Rachel or Katherine, but instead: Chan Marshall, not wearing feather earrings! She also wants you to spay or neuter your pets.

[top image from Rachael Ray via the Jason Debus Heigl Foundation]

Awesome celebrity news: Ted Danson goes vegan!  »

What’s that? Another distinguished, white-haired older gentleman has gone vegan? Which dashing silverback has made the choice to abstain from animal products in his diet, for the good of the world and his health? Why (as you may have surmised from the accompanying photograph), it’s Ted Danson!

Yes, Ted Danson, he of the delightful, departed Bored to Death, and most recently of CBS’ Cavalcade of Pseudoscience, Vol. 1 (CSI), has turned to a vegan diet to help himself “feel good and look fabulous,” according to contactmusic.com. Yes! Ted Danson, we’re all vegans around here and we feel good (reallllll good) and look fabulous, too! Welcome to the club!

Or, welcome back? Ecorazzi says that this isn’t the first time this silver fox has spoken of his vegan diet (or lack thereof), but you know, it took a couple tries for veganism to stick with some of us, too, so we’re going to remain open-minded and open-armed about this decision. You’re welcome as long as you like, Ted Danson, as is your ridiculously beautiful wife. It’s awesome over here in vegan-land! Stay forever!

[photo by Sharon Graphics via Flickr]