My friend turned me on to Alicia Silverstone’s Kind Life blog. It’s got good content and forum dicussions on everything from restaurants, innovative chefs, how to make vegan french toast to great vegan purses on (the awesome, but overwhelming) handmade goods site Etsy. It’s useful for veggie-friendly people like me, who eat a plant-based diet most of the time, but mostly geared for those who have yet to switch over. And it’s got readers from all over, even Europe.

The site’s an extension of her book, the Kind Diet. I’m really glad books like this, Living Vegan for Dummies, and “Skinny Bitch” are bringing vegetarianism into the mainstream. Even Starbucks is getting in on the trend. Quarrygirl reports on their new healthy, animal-free cookies.

Reducing one’s intake of animal products to special occasions is a good start to positively impacting the environment, animal welfare, and our health.

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Here are some cool ways to get involved in the left and right coasts:

Vegan Drinks meets this Thursday in San Francisco.

Vegan Bake Sale to benefit Haiti this Thursday in NYC, organized by Post Punk Kitchen. But wait, there’s a lot more all over the country. Some still need bakers if you got what it takes! In NYC, other vegan-friendly businesses like Candle Cafe and Moo Shoes will be participating in raffles too. The San Francisco one raised over $3,000!

I would love to attend Chef Matteo’s next gourmet vegan dinner happening on Saturday in Brooklyn, but I won’t be able to. Yum, the menu looks so good! If you make it, please let me know how it is.

I’ll have to stop into Gracias Madre, a new Mexican vegan restaurant by the folks from Cafe Gratitude. Healthy horchata, cashew cheese, outdoor heaters - the reviews on the funny site Vegansaurus make it sound purty good!