Cute boys who care about animals? Sign me up!

peta2 took on Greek life this semester by hosting the first-ever #VeganFratChallenge. The dudes of Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi) at Brown University ate completely vegan for a week and were educated on animal rights and, well, basic vegan cooking—’cause who really knows how to do that in college? #LivingOffRamen

peta2 stocked the frat’s kitchen with tons of cruelty-free food from some of our fave brands, including Daiya and Beyond Meat.

At first, the brothers of AEPi were skeptical about switching up some of their favorite foods… but they quickly realized that pretty much everything they ate before could easily be “veganized”!

The guys enjoyed vegan versions of spaghetti and meatballs, mac and cheese, tacos, cookies, and burgers—all while saving animals at the same time.

What hunks, right?

They had great things to say about the vegan grub, like “Vegan bacon tastes better than regular bacon!” And a few even discovered some new favorite foods, like smoothies.

The guys also watched Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret—which is easy to stream now that it’s on Netflix—and learned that animal agriculture is the single greatest contributor to climate change.

They ended the challenge with a nice vegan barbecue, and several of the guys have told us that they plan to continue eating vegan because of all they’ve learned.

It’s no surprise that “bro culture” is starting to see the benefits of a vegan lifestyle. A lot of athletes have realized that the best way to get the nutrition they need is through plants. For example, Chicago Bears lineman David Carter, MMA fighters Mac Danzig and Jake Shields, former heavyweight champion of the world Mike Tyson, and 2014 Mr. Universe Barny du Plessis are all vegan, and they surely get enough protein!

By the end of the week, these fellas turned into bros with hearts of gold and compassion for animals.

All the recipes that AEPi used during peta2’s #VeganFratChallenge were super-easy to tackle. And an oven wasn’t even used once! You can try making this dish, which was a favorite among the guys, at home:

Just some #frat boys enjoying some #vegan comfort food! 😛🍴 #VeganFratChallenge #AEPi #BrownU #peta2life A video posted by peta2 (@peta2) on Sep 30, 2015 at 3:20pm PDT

Vegan Mac and Cheese

1 16-oz. box elbow macaroni or penne noodles

4 Tbsp. vegan margarine (try Earth Balance brand)

1/2 yellow onion, minced

4 Tbsp. flour

3 cups unsweetened, unflavored nondairy milk

1 1/2 cups nutritional yeast (we like Bob’s Red Mill brand, which can be found in the natural-food section of most grocery stores or health-food stores)

2 1/2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

Salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.

Heat the vegan margarine in a pot over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until soft and slightly browned.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour and nondairy milk until all the clumps are gone.

Add the flour mixture and the nutritional yeast to the pot of onions and whisk until well combined.

Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper and continue cooking, whisking frequently, until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Tip: If the sauce is too thin, add more flour until you achieve the desired thickness. If it’s too thick, add more nondairy milk.

Pour the sauce over the pasta and mix well. Enjoy!



Makes 4 servings

Interested in trying out the #VeganFratChallenge at your school? Contact us at [email protected]