Frankie’s Vegan Spare Ribs
This recipe sounds tasty, and not too complicated. The meat substitute is seitan. It does call for a food processor, and about an hour of total baking time, which is not too bad. There is a BBQ sauce recipe that goes with the ribs.

Carolina-style Barbeque Sandwiches
From Vegetarian Times, this one I would like to try, but it calls for a lot of cider vinegar. In fact, in the comments section, most said it was too much and they reduced it, “I just made this recipe and after reading the above posting I reduced the apple vinegar to around 1/4 C.” The sauce is supposed to be tangy, and mustardy. The sandwich uses seitan as the protein source. (If you want the sweeter Kansas City BBQ sauce, here is a recipe for Big Al’s K.C. sauce.)

Sweet and Spicy Barbeque Tofu
A simple but appealing recipe for comes from About.com. The only issue I see is the call for 3/4 cup brown sugar. That seems like too much, and could be reduced to maybe 1/4. Also it mentions using 3/4 cup orange juice concentrate, which could be enough sweetness by itself. Marinating takes 2 hours, but everything else is quick.

Eggplant BBQ with Fresh Chive Vinaigrette
This recipe sounds the most original. It also doesn’t require much time. When can you say you last barbequed an eggplant?

Brazilian Beach Skewers
For people who do eat cheese, there is an intriguing recipe using Halloumi, which is a middle eastern cheese usually only made from goat and sheep milk. You can probably get it at a middle eastern grocery store, and some supermarkets might carry it. (A simple recipe once you have acquired the Halloumi.)

BBQ Seitan Ribs
SusanV of the FatFree Vegan Kitchen blog has a recipe for ribs that sounds good, though it is not entirely fat free. This one requires you have your own sauce. She says it is easy to make, but the recipe requires something called liquid smoke.

By Katie Leavitt, Tonic

Most people are aware that adopting a meatless diet is not only good for the body, but good for the planet. It cannot be denied, however, that vegetarians and vegans often get stereotyped as granola-crunching hippies with a chip on their shoulder. Fortunately, the veggie lifestyle has become largely mainstream and accepted for what it is, a healthy and environmentally-friendly alternative.

For men, though, it is has been a bit harder to shake the stigma associated with adopting a plant-based diet. Often they are thought of as wimpy or feminine because animal protein supposedly makes you big and strong. However, “hegans,” are slowly coming out of their shells and embracing the lifestyle, shamelessly. Men are frequenting vegan restaurants and cooking vegan food for their friends, family and co-workers. The Boston Globe highlighted a number of these men in a recent article, but perhaps the most intriguing of them is Rip Esselstyn from Austin, TX. The firefighter and triathlete who helped his fellow firefighters to lower their cholesterol and get healthy with his “plant-strong” diet. In regards to his lifestyle, he said, “Sure there is a stigma attached to it, that it’s for yuppie, tree-hugging, emaciated weaklings. That is far from the truth. I like to say that real men eat plants.’’

Whether fully vegan or not, making small steps to incorporate more vegetables, fruit, protein-rich whole grains, legumes, and nuts, while reducing animal proteins, has been shown to reduce cholesterol and lower the risk for cancer and heart disease. It also is one of the most effective ways to reduce your carbon footprint.

To prove that vegetarians can be just as strong and manly as any meat-eater, check out professional Ironman triathlete Brendan Brazier, bodybuilding and gold-medalist ski jumper Andreas Cahling, wrestler Chris Campbell, NBA player Anthony Peeler, track star Carl Lewis and four-time Mr Universe Bill Pearl to name a few.

Tonic is a digital media company dedicated to promoting the good that happens around the world each day. We share the stories of people and organizations that are making a difference by inspiring good in themselves and others.

At Tonic, we also see ourselves as a service company — one that strives not only to inspire our readers, but to equip them with the resources to make a difference.

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