Tag Archives: Surviving Canadian Winters

Vegan Alternatives to Warm Fabrics

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Living in Canada means I get the fun of dealing with 4-feet snow banks and -40C temperatures. Unfortunately, humans aren’t born with a layer of heated skin, so we have to find other ways to keep ourselves warm during winter. The most usual being winter clothes. Jackets, boots, gloves, hats, scarves, etc.

Also unfortunately, most of the go-to fabrics for winter clothing aren’t vegan friendly. Wool, down, fur – even silk! This makes it hard to find vegan-friendly winter clothes for new and veteran vegans alike.

Fortunately though, we’re living in the future!

This means with a little bit of research, you can find suitable winter clothes that will keep you nice and toasty – without compromising your ethics.

 

Thinsulate

This fabric is a synthetic, waterproof and durable cold weather textile. I’ve seen this stuff being used the most as an alternative to the down lining in winter jackets, but I bet with a bit of searching you could find it available for other clothing items, as well.

It also used to be much harder to find than it is nowadays, which is great news for vegans!

 

Cotton

Yes, this simple, well-known fabric has many uses – including being a great alternative to wool for winter!

While cotton isn’t water-proof, it does a great job of keeping you warm in the colder months. It’s also soft and breathable, which is a must when you’re layering ten fabrics together!

Another great thing about cotton? It’s super easy to blend it with other fabrics!

Looking for a clothing item that’s a mix of cotton and something else will give your innerds the best chance at staying warm and dry.

 

Polyester, Nylon and Acrylic

These materials are another synthetic alternative. While they’re some of the most widely-available fabrics, I’ll leave it up to you on whether or not you want to shoulder the environmental responsibility.

That said, keep in mind that buying a clothing item that contains one or more of these fabrics is still ethically better than one of the usual winter go-tos.

 

Bamboo

Not just for toilet paper – bamboo is another versatile material that’s breaking into the winter clothing market!

Bamboo clothes can be some of the softest, most comfortable pieces you’ll ever wear. It also has antifungal and odour resistant properties, which makes it a great option for doing activities such as shovelling snow.

One downside to bamboo is that it’s not the warmest option available. So you might want to skip wearing it on the coldest day of the year.

 

Wildflowers

Yes, that’s right! While this might be a harder alternative to find than some of the others I’ve mentioned, there are companies out there using wildflowers as an alternative stuffing option to down!

 

I don’t imagine you’d be able to find these clothing items at ‘normal’ retailers such as Old Navy, but they shouldn’t be too hard to find on a dedicated vegan clothing website.

I’ve also heard of a few companies using materials like coconut or soybean fiber, but like wildflowers, I don’t think those pieces are as widely available as some of the others I mentioned.

Some winter coats also have detachable fur lining on their hoods, so if you’re really in a pinch – and the rest of the materials used in the jacket are alright – you can always zip it off and donate it.

While there’s not too many widely available vegan materials for winter clothes, there’s definitely enough you should be able to find what you need to make it through.

And if you don’t… well you can have a 5 month house party!


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Surviving Canadian Winters

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I decided to write this article because in my first year of going vegan, I Googled this very topic and guess what came up? Nothing. Well, not nothing nothing – there were some articles that were about ‘surviving winter’ but they didn’t do anything. Apparently, no vegans in Canada wanted to pass this oh-so-important wisdom down so I was basically on my own.

You may be wondering: why such worry about making it to the store? That’s a good question. Having to rely on public transit is not always the easiest during winter. Between the closures/detours due to weather and some routes not being driven altogether, you don’t really want to go through that on top of the freezing weather.

My top two suggestions for making these stock-up trips:

  1. Stretch multiple trips out over the fall months (Sept.-Nov.) and try to remember this has to last you until you’re able to walk outside again (around/after Feb.)
  2. Get these before it’s too cold to leave your house. Trust me, you really don’t want to go out in the middle of December when it’s -40C because you forgot bread.

So, for my fellow Canadian-vegans, when the snow banks are 4ft. tall and your door locks are frozen shut, fear not! I’m here to make those last trips to the store easier for you.

Obviously, you don’t need to get everything on this list. This is just a list of foods you may want to stock up on for the colder months. If nothing else, these should (hopefully) lessen your worry about getting through winter, even if they’re not exactly ‘essentials’. Also, who wants to get a hot chocolate craving only to find they’re out?

I recommend checking out my Vegan Staples list first, since that lists all the food essentials*, then come back here to see what else from this list you might want to stock up on.

Pantry

  • Hot Chocolate (I like Castle Kitchen’s Classic Caramel)
  • Marshmallows (Dandies)
  • Mr. Noodles (Mushroom and Vegetable)
  • Daiya Mac N Cheese (Alfredo Style, Cheddar, White Cheddar with Veggies)
  • Gravy (I like Road’s End Savoury Herb)
  • Mashed Potato Flakes (if you don’t/can’t lug a whole bag of potatoes home)
  • Kraft Peanut Butter with Chocolate (yes, it’s vegan, and it’s amazing)
  • Hummus/Salad Dressing/Some type of spread so you don’t eat dry sandwiches all winter
  • Shake N Bake/Bread Crumbs
  • VeganEgg
  • Winter Holiday baking supplies (cocoa powder, flour, sugar, egg replacer/applesauce, etc.)

Cans: (Check out my Surprising Vegan Soup post for more!)

  • Amy’s Alphabet Soup (my favourite!)
  • Amy’s Organic Vegetable Barley
  • Amy’s Fire Roasted Southerwestern Vegetable
  • Amy’s Black Bean Vegetable
  • Habitant Garden Style Vegetable Soup
  • Hunt’s Manwich Original Sloppy Joe

Snacks:

  • Chips
  • Pretzels
  • Crackers (Triscuits, Vegetable Thins, Ritz, Premium Plus)
  • Cookies
  • Popcorn Kernels (and ketchup powder!) or Skinny Pop
  • Chocolate (chips, bars)
  • Licorice (Twizzlers as a stir-stick in hot chocolate = amazing)

Freezer

  • Butter/Margrine 6 months
  • Seitan 1yr
  • Tofu** (can give it a ‘chewier’ texture, drain and place in Ziplock) 3-5 months
  • Daiya Products (cheese blocks/pizza) 6 months
  • Tofurky Products (sausages/deli slices/pizza/pizza pockets) 1yr
  • Gardein Products (7 Grain Crispy Tenders, Mandarin Orange Chick’N, Pizza Pockets, etc.) 6 months
  • Field Roast Products (burgers, sausages, deli slices, etc.) 1yr
  • Yves Products (pepperoni, deli slices, ground round) 1-3 months
  • Fries (smiley/crinkle/straight-cut)
  • Hash Browns
  • Taquitos (Starlight Beef are good)
  • Burritos (Amy’s Black Bean Vegetable and Bean and Rice are good)
  • Perogies
  • Tortillas (place parchment in between to prevent tearing) 6-8 months
  • Ice-cream (I know it’s gonna be cold, but some days…)

*I don’t yet have a non-food essentials list, but I’m working on it! I’ll be posting it hopefully sometime next year, but I’m hoping you don’t really need me to tell you to stock up on non-food essentials (toilet paper).

**Tofu may change from white to a yellow or amber colour. Don’t freak out, it’s still perfectly safe to eat. Let it thaw and cook as usual.

Keep in mind, that some of these items are heavy, so you might want to buy one of those shopping carts on wheels, or bring a luggage that has wheels on it with you and fill that up – instead of making eighty-seven little trips to the store. (But hey, if that’s your thing, you go right ahead).

As stated above, this isn’t really an essentials list, so don’t feel like you have to buy everything on here. This list isn’t a be-all, end-all of winter stock up foods. These are just (hopefully) enough to get you thinking in terms of, ‘What will I be craving three months from now when I’ve been stuck inside all day?’

Also, keep in mind that winter not only brings cold, but also holidays. So, you may need to add some holiday specific items to your list as well. Usually, I try to plan in advanced what I’ll be making, but I know that’s not always plausible.

If all else fails, you can always get groceries delivered.


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