Vida Vegan Con Day #2

Day two started off with the most amazing breakfast buffet I have ever seen. I go to conferences frequently for professional purposes, and I have never, ever seen anything like this. Seriously! I was an omnivore and then a vegetarian for many of the conferences I’ve been to- and I never ate this well. All I can say is wow.

Obviously everything is vegan. There’s So Delicious Coconut Yogurt (and not pictured, their new “Greek Yogurt!”), apple cobbler, gluten-free pancakes, biscuits and gravy, breakfast potatoes, tofu scramble, fruit, and I think that’s all I had! Yeah, all- *snort*

Next up was the photography workshop with Isa Moskowitz, Hannah Kaminsky, and Susan Voisin. All fabulous photographers! I wish this workshop had been longer, more in-depth, and smaller, but it was still retty awesome! And Isa gave me a piece of fabric she uses as a backdrop!

Next I attended the nutrition panel. I experienced a bit of trepidation here- as a health professional myself, I’m sometimes a little put off by some of the well-intentioned but misguided advice given by some vegan bloggers (note: if you read on someone’s blog that vegans needing B-12 is a myth, run!). I couldn’t quite figure out why one of the panelists was on there, but it was overall very solid. I especially liked hearing from The Vegan RD, probably the only vegan blogger from which any of us should be taking any nutritional advice!

Next I went to a workshop on community blogging- I’m not sure what my purpose was in going here (other than it looked interesting), but I wanted to get more ideas. I usually find people’s stories interesting, and I was not disappointed with listening to the stories of how the blogs represented have evolved. Especially Vegansaurus! Who knows what my next project might be?

Next up: lunch!

Clockwise from top: massaged kale, BBQ tempeh (under salad), apple cobbler, golden beet citrus salad, orzo salad, creamy pesto potato salad, raw purple cauliflower hummus with veggies, and roasted corn in the middle. It was all excellent, though I didn’t care for the hummus. Not surprising- I am the *picky* vegan, after all!

After lunch, I headed to the positive blogging session. Here’s what I learned:

• If you can be thoughtful, you can be positive.
• It doesn’t have to be sugary sweet.
• Stepping back from comments is important.

I finished off the sessions with the dating and mating panel, and then hurried back to my hotel to get ready for the Galarama!

I was among the fortunate few early-goers, so I was at the front of the line for the buffet! The food was again amazing.

Front and center is a vegan hamburger slider! Also, pizza, Gardein tenders, spring rolls, and bruschetta in the back. All was good!

The line in the back is for the food- which is on the other side of the room! We vegans know how to eat!

From the Coconut Bliss sundae bar! Yes, there is vegan caramel on this sundae. I know how jealous you are!

Next up- hitting the dance floor! If you check out a picture at Vegan Crunk, you just might see me on the dance floor. 🙂 I need to be there and work off everything I’ve eaten!

After that, it was time to go back to to hotel and get some rest before VVC Day #3. I do believe I slept well that night.

Look for a post on Day #3 and my last day in Portland later this week!