This post is in collaboration with U.S. Veg Corp.
This week is a big and exciting week for vegans and vegetarians in the NYC area. The NYC Vegetarian Food Festival is happening this weekend, and U.S. Veg Corp kicked off festival week at One Medical Group last night, bringing together festival vendors, speakers, and press for a sneak peek of what’s to come. There’s also a Food as Medicine conversation tomorrow and Vegan Drinks Brooklyn next week as part of the festival lineup.
Of course, the launch party wouldn’t be complete without some fun, tasty bites. The Institute of Culinary Education may not be a vegan culinary school, but they presented a delicious array of plant-based bites for the event. Throughout the evening, the ICE team was busy assembling plate after plate of snacks that I’m sure were heavily Instagrammed.
The two savory bites that I kept going back for were the chickpea crostini and summer rolls with smoked tofu, wakame, and pickled daikon. That sauce in the summer rolls! The white bean gazpacho seemed to be a real crowd pleaser too. The peanut butter and veggie slaw toasts were an unusual, intriguing combination of ingredients. And let’s not forget the fabulous chocolates from ICE’s bean-to-bar chocolate lab. Such beauties!
But the launch party wasn’t just about meeting other festival exhibitors and sampling some great food. This year’s festival has a huge health focus and features eight doctors this weekend. At the launch party, Dr. Michelle McMacken shared a few words about veganism and the benefits of a plant-based diet. What resonated with me most was one of her closing remarks about veganism being not just about your personal health, but the health of animals, the environment, and our community as a whole. Currently feeling inspired and pumped for the festival. See you there!
Note: This post is in collaboration with U.S. Veg Corp. I attended this event as a guest and member of the U.S. Veg Corp team. This was not in exchange for a positive review and all opinions expressed here are my own.
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