June News
Summer is Here and the Living is VEGAN
This month’s BIG event is our Annual Independence from MeatPicnic on June 16th from 12-4pm.
The event will be held at the Rotary Park in Suntree.
What a beautiful park! ( it’s right off of US1 at Suntree Blvd. )
The Healthy Planet of Brevard will be providing the “burgers”, “dogs” & buns and a few other dishes.
We ask you to bring a vegan dish to share or to donate $5.00 towards the cause if you prefer just to come and play.
A vegan dish is one that contains no meat, dairy, eggs, honey, marshmallow, or gelatin.
Please bring a list of ingredients for you dish so that those with allergies can be sure what they are eating.
The park has a lovely play ground for the children, and a small beach area if you’re inclined to swim or just wade.
We’ll have games (bocce, musical chairs) contests ( water ballon toss, guess the # of beans) music - Judy has written a couple of fantastic songs for us to sing about being vegan - raffles, and exhibits and of course FOOD, did I mention FOOD ? Yes, there will be plenty of VEGAN FOOD at our picnic
So bring all your friends and neighbors and anyone else you can find and let’s usher in the summer together! Saturday, June 16th from 12-4 at Suntree Rotary Park.
If you have any questions about this event or what to bring email us at picnic@healthyplanetofbrevard.com or call us at 321-345-VEGI (8344)
Dining Out
We started our month with a speaking event at the library on June 2nd. Kristin Lajeunesse was a delight and we all enjoyed the tales of her travels. We followed the speaking event with a dining-out at Siam Orchid in Cocoa Beach which was Amazing! If you have a chance, this place is wonderful! They have lots of vegan items on their menu, so no advance notice is required, how refreshing ! The food is delicious, the service was the best! and, of course, the company was delightful
We also stopped in at the newest eating establishment in Cocoa Beach, THE AVOCADO PIT on A1A at Minuteman causeway. It’s an adorable little place. They serve a little fish, but most of the menu is vegan, and the veggies are organic or hydroponically grown, some of it right there over your head.
In July, we will be dining out at Dixie Crossroads in Titusville … Yes, you’re reading that right….. They have some veg heads on staff who are encouraging them to give it a go so they’ve added a few vegan items, and are preparing a menu for us as I write this. We’re excited anytime a traditional restaurant adds vegan so let’s show up in-force for this meal and show them there is a demand.
Mark your calendars for July 7th at 6 pm at the Dixie Crossroads, and tell everyone you know in Titusville that this event will be something special.
The price of $18.00 per person, includes soft drinks tax & tip HPOB Members’ price is $16.00 per person.
Please RSVP to Kim at hpobdiningout@gmail.com
Save the Dates
August 18th will be dining at NIKI’s in Indialantic,
September 13th ( Thursday night) will be at Pizza Gallery in Viera
December 1st , our holiday party, will be at Brano’s in Cocoa Beach
NO POTLUCK in June
Potluck will resume on July 14th
Each month we gather at Appleseed Health foods for our monthly potluck dinner.Our Hosts for this event are Appleseed’s owners Renee & Kurt, and our Healthy Planet of Brevard Potluck co-ordinator Judy McCluney. It’s great fun to gather and share recipes and stories in this lovely space. Please bring a vegan dish to share -enough to feed your family and a little bit more- and your own plates and utensils. If you’re not sure what is vegan, or you prefer to come just to see what others are cooking up that’s fine too. We ask for a $5.00 donation in that case, and if you forget your plates, etc., no worry, we always have spares. For more information about the Potluck dinners, and pictures of past events, please visit our meet-up page http://www.meetup.com/healthyplanetofbrevard/ If you are preparing a dish for the event, please remember no meat, fish, dairy, eggs, Jello marshmallows or honey.
If you have questions about what you can bring please feel free to contact Judy@jmccluney@cfl.rr.com We kindly ask that you label your food with a copy of the recipe. This helps people with allergies to know if they can sample your dish. All are welcome! Whether we are vegan, vegetarian or carnivore, we can all enjoy a delicious meal.
Judy and Bill’s Northern Adventure
Now that my husband Bill and I are back in Cocoa after a trip to Minnesota and Wisconsin for my nephew’s wedding, I can report we two vegans survived. Here’s how…
Upon arriving in Minneapolis for an overnight stay in the region named Bloomington we found an Indian restaurant and enjoyed curried lentils and garbanzos, samosas, and flat bread. The next day our party of 8 had some excellent salads and tasty bread at a restaurant in Mall of America. Then on to St. Cloud. Fortunately we had brought some fruit and bread with us, and Bill bought a jar of quality peanut butter the next morning, so we could have a quick lunch before the wedding. Our orders for vegan food at the reception were filled beautifully with big dishes of Israeli cous-cous cooked with mushrooms and herbs and assorted local grilled veggies including asparagus and squash. Unfortunately we could not eat the wedding cake which was a cheesecake.
The next day at the bride’s parents’ home we enjoyed a buffet of vegan baked beans, salad and watermelon. That evening we and my cousins went to an upscale Italian restaurant. They had nothing vegan on the menu. I negotiated for side dishes. They admitted to having broccoli, mushroom and a mixture including sweet peppers and squash. However they refused to bring them in separate dishes. Finally I agreed to their putting them all together in a bowl. I put some salt on them and accompanied them with their very good rosemary bread. What a relief to solve that problem!
The next day we went south to the town of Excelsior where we found a bakery and bought fresh whole grain bread (and a berry scone.) Our peanut butter came in handy again, and we had a fine picnic. We got lucky for dinner and discovered an excellent Chinese restaurant right across from our motel. We ate Chinese vegetables and a dish of matchstick sliced marinated tofu with mushrooms. Wonderful! We ate some leftovers the next day at the U. of Minnesota arboretum, along with hot tea. Hard to believe it was late spring there. Brrrr!
Then on to Wisconsin where with some trepidation we ordered pizza with extra broccoli rather than cheese. Since the state is famous for cheese I had visions of the waitress calling the Cheese Police, but she was agreeable to our order. After another picnic at the site of Wisconsin’s Crystal Cave (worth seeing), and some great hikes at Willow River State Park, we returned to Bloomington to stay the night and go to the airport in the a.m. I packed some peanut butter sandwiches with the last of our bread for the flight home. We topped the trip off by going back to the same Indian restaurant where we ate when we first arrived, and told them goodbye and why we would not be returning in the foreseeable future. The next night I pulled a pack of our home-grown collards from the freezer, as well as beans and fresh corn on the cob and celebrated being home again.
Looking Forward:
July 14th The Hispanic Business Expo & Health Fair will be held at the Eau Gallie Civic Center - we need Hispanic speakers to man the tables
September 15th Florida Coastal Cleanup - Patrick Airforce Base check-in site : we’d like to attend as a group so if you’d like to volunteer for this event let us know
October 6th at 3pm at the Cocoa Beach Library: Dr.Samadhi Keever - Sustainable Nutrition for Vegans
Save the date:
Turkey-Free Thanksgiving, November 10th,
our annual gathering to celebrate our community
( Please note the change of date)
Cocoa Beach Library Events:
Detox 411 with Acupuncture Physician and Herbalist Diane Said Tuesday, June 5 at 2:00pm,
Good Clean Fun: Make Your Own Soap Wednesday, June 6 at 6:30pm,
Compositional Photography, with Mick West Thursdays, June 7-28 at 1:00pm
Losing Todd: A Mother’s Journey – Meet the Artist and Learn About the Sacrifices of Our Military Saturday, June 16 at 1:30pm
Cocoa Beach Surf Museum Presents: Classic Surf Movie Barefoot Adventure Saturday, June 16, doors open 6:30pm
John Rogers, Professional Medium Wednesday, June 20 at 6:00pm
Local Author Chris Kridler: Funnel Vision Saturday, June 23 at 2:00pm
The library also has daily childrens programs throughout the summer. for more information see http://www.cocoabeachpubliclibrary.org/
