Carb Day!

Well, it wasn't exactly carb day, but it was all I photographed!

I've mentioned on Facebook that I've hired a health/lifestyle coach! How fun is that?! I love the process, and we are looking into food, sleep, exercise, stress levels, etc just to see how to have the most energy and fun! I am happy that this is a "whole health" approach and not just food related or exercise related. It's very interesting and my habits will soon be changing as we progress into a plan of action!

In the meantime, I am trying to eat for my metabolic type and making an effort to sleep and exercise every day. I also am relying less on pre-made foods and am back to making things myself. :)

I made some whole wheat bread today and it was very much worth taking out the bread machine for! I added some agave nectar (no honey!) and it came out great. I ran out of vital wheat gluten, but added in some soy milk to perhaps lighten it up, and it worked out great! It was not too dense at all, like I feared. Doesn't it look good?


Upon Britty's request, a pasta salad came later in the day! We added Adzuki beans, onions, corn, dill, veganaise, and salt. It doesn't take much veganaise to make this and you can cut it down with a splash of soy/rice milk (unsweetened for us!) to make it lower in fat: (and add more/different veggies for a more healthy version!)


I did not photograph our Moroccan Chickpea Patties (Dreena Burton recipe.) which were very good! We had those with a baked potato and garlic-sauteed red chard. mmm

Hope you are all doing well!! Thank you for the Facebook birthday wishes! Wow, that was a surprise to get so many!! Thank you. :) :)

Happy Earth Day!

"Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realize we cannot eat money."

~Cree Indian Proverb

Be ready for Julie Andrews

My dad just emailed this video clip to me and it makes me wonder why these fun things do not happen in my travels!! :) I'd LOVE to see this and I'd make a fool of myself joining in!

Coconut Lemon Bundt Cake

This was from Veganomnicon... a very excellent cookbook from Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. I was worried about it being too lemony, but I could have added even more lemon juice to this and would have loved it! (next time, I will add more!)

I ran out of powdered sugar for the top, but this was good just as is!

Victoria's Secret Body Care Line

I love Victoria's Secret and am SO happy that they have come out with a vegan body care line! it's called Pink Body and includes sugar scrubs, lotions, body washes and more!
I ordered a few myself and are waiting on their arrival! I have heard many good things about these products and cannot wait to test mine out. I knew that the Engergizing Body Wash was a MUST HAVE for me when I read this description:

"Not a morning person? No problem. We made our energizing body wash specifically for those slow and sluggish days. It invigorates as it cleanses. Packed with U.S.-sourced Citrus and Organic Mint to naturally exfoliate and refresh, plus a boost of caffeine from Organic Coffee Beans to energize. Lather up and rinse off to reveal clean, radiant-looking skin from tip to toes."

Sounds perfect!

Another nice note is that the products are surprisingly reasonably priced. (compared to their other products!) I was happy to pick up a few different ones to try and to support their new natural, organic, and 100% vegan line!

Six Dogs Dead in 2009 Iditarod

Six Dogs Dead in 2009 Iditarod

First there was Victor, a 6-year-old dog on musher Jeff Holt's team, who died suddenly on March 10. A gross necropsy (the canine version of an autopsy) was completed, however, "no cause of death could be determined by the board certified veterinary pathologist."

Then, on March 16, a search pilot discovered that two dogs (whose names, Dizzy and Grasshopper, were not even included in the Iditarod advisory) on rookie musher Lou Packer's team had apparently frozen to death.

Next, on March 19, Maynard, a 5-year-old male on Warren Palrey's team, died on the trail late at night. His necropsy showed "pulmonary edema [fluid in the lungs] was present, which likely developed as the result of a cardiac abnormality." Maynard had been "working hard" on the trail for 11 days leading up to his death.

One day later, Omen, an 8-year-old male on Rick Larson's team, died on the trail between the checkpoints at Elim and White Mountain. As with Maynard, Omen's necropsy indicated that he died from a pulmonary edema.

The sixth dog, a 2-year-old female named Cirque, died during a post-race flight. Cirque, who was on musher Alan Peck's team, was discovered dead when after the plane was forced to land due to significant turbulence.

Please visit the Sled Dog Action Coalition's site to find out what you can do to end this deadly race once and for all.


http://www.helpsleddogs.org/sponsors.htm

Source of photo and information obtained from Care2.com.

Save Our Seals & LUSH Cosmetics

"To the dismay of animal lovers around the world, the annual Canadian seal slaughter is set to resume later this week. Therefore, with the goal of bringing the world's attention to this atrocity, Sea Shepherd is proud to announce a new partnership with LUSH Cosmetics to oppose the commercial hunt, which kills over 250,000 baby harp seals each spring." ~ Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Friday Harbor, WA

What an adorable way to take action:

From Lush's Website:

Vegan

100% of the proceeds from sales of this limited edition bubble bar will be donated to Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. This limited edition bubble bar has the same refreshing fragrance as our Sea Vegetable soap, plus it has a reusable seal face sticker on the top of the bubble bar. It smells of lime, lavender with just a hint of seaweed to remind you of the ocean and is rolled in coconut shavings to resemble the fur of a seal pup. The name “first swim” comes from the baby seals that are killed so young they are haven't even had their first meal or first swim yet. We thought it would be lovely to give this baby seal its first swim.

Lunch at EVO

It was great to see my friend Mary again for our monthly get together! :) :) We decided to go to EVO Restaurant on Chandler Street in Worcester. This is the new cafe attached to the Living Earth.

Mary was so healthy at got a salad with lemon dressing. I got that as my side dish and ALSO got a falafel-hummus wrap:

And look... they "brand" their wraps and sandwiches with their logo. Hmmmm.. I want to try that at my work! I can brand our brides with our logo!

Evo had some vegan options and can seemingly veganize many of the other items on the menu. They also make custom pizzas, but be aware that their soy cheese is *not* vegan. (totally aggravating!) They do have vegan pizza toppings aside from fruit and veggies, such as vegan sausage, pepperoni, and hamburger-type crumbles. I may create my own pizza next time I go.

So next door is an old favorite, The Living Earth. We had to stop in!

I passed by rows of veggies and went to locate Britty's favorite there: Spinach Pies! Mary and I picked up some other good things at LE like vegan lemon cookies and Primal Strips.

I could not leave without looking at the vegan wines! I picked up a Cabernet, but may use it in cooking since I don't drink much of it! (Unless Jamie wants to join in and share it with some chocolates!)


Thanks to Mary for an awesome lunch, despite the fact that we both were just recovering from the flu! :P

PS - The jasmine tea at EVO works well for flu-type aches!

Note: Vegan Wine/Beer/Liquor info at barnivore.com

One - Slide Show

Some people could not open the large version of the slide show that I posted not long ago, so I shrunk it and hosted it here on Blogger. Not all of the text is readable in this size, but you get the idea anyhow.

Watch through to the end, since it's a happy ending! :)



Song credit = "One" by Simple Plan
Most Images by Peta

Nutritional Therapy

"You do not need to count calories if you make every calorie count."
~ John Robbins

I'm a huge fan of Eat to Live and I am frequently eating as if I am on ETL's 6-week plan. I have already done the entire 6-week plan and reached my goal weight, but as Dr. Furhman says, most people are still carrying extra pounds around even if they believe they are the correct weight. That may sound harsh, but if you think about what an extra 5 pounds adds to your heart, lungs, and all organs, why not try to remove the "excess" fat around them? Those 5 pounds may not be noticeable to you or friends, but your body is noticing and is working a little harder because of it. (Note that Dr. Furhman does not promote zero body fat!) So I remain on an ETL plan and focus on nutrient dense foods.

While blog hopping, I discovered another Nutrient-Dense Foods promoter, Dr. McDougall. His philosophy is similar to Dr. Furhman's, but he believes in a 100% vegan diet and also believes in a more carb-based diet. (Dr. Furhman's non-6-week plans do include minimal meat and dairy, so I skip all of that!) I like some of the recipes on the McDougall site, although I do not think I could eat as many carbs as he lists! Check out his philoposhy and his 12 weeks of recipes!

Dr. MsDougall's Free Program Info

or, just take a peek at all the recipes for his 12 week program for ideas:

Dr. McDougall 12 week recipe plan

Like I said, I could not eat that many carbs per day, but I do like the recipes. They are all vegan and use no oils! I like how he does not believe in using oil!

One last site I came across which I will post more on as I find out more, is:

Vegan Done Light by Erin Dame. He was mentioned on PCRM (see my "Veggie Links to the right for more info" and has an ebook of recipes that follow Eat to Live! I already subscribed to his free monthly newsletter. :) His blog is called ZenPawn and shows the current video clip of the Food For Life program which features his recipe: Cherry Hummus. yum!! Check it out! I'm happy I found the site!!

With all of these resources for eating well and focusing on Nutritional Therapy and nutritionally dense foods... low fat eating...eating to live... well, there's no excuse for feeling tired and fat again!

One Project

Please click on the image or link below for a slide show we made. It is not too gruesome, but it does show a bit of reality. If you watch until the end, you will also be shown hope:


Turn on your speakers, and please watch until the end. :) Thank you!

VeganCandi - One Project.wmv

Buddha Hut Vegan Restaurant

It was another late night at work, so Britty and I decided to pick up something good for dinner and eat it at the studio. We knew exactly where we'd go!

Buddha Hut Vegan Restaurant
415 Chandler Street
Worcester, MA
(508) 459-0367

We usually like to eat there, but since it was a work night, we didn't get to drink the tea and talk to the adorable husband and wife team who run the place. We did, however, choose some excellent dishes!

I started with soup and a salad:

The soup is a veggie (of course!) steamed wonton soup. The salad is a "chicken" salad with raw cabbage, carrots and fried onions.

Below, there is our favorite dish ever... "Chicken" and Cucumbers. (on the left side.) The restaurant calls it Heavenly Chicken, but we call it by our own name! It's my favorite, and also Britty and Jamie's favorite... so you know it's good!

On the right side is an order of steamed dumplings with a soy/ginger dipping sauce.

With my own green tea on the side, it was nearly as good as eating it at Buddha Hut. I do recommend going there and checking out their daily specials too! They even have desserts: vegan cake!

A Rescued Rio

I never knew how many horses were sent to auction/slaughter because they were no longer useful. Volunteering at a rescue opened our eyes to the ways that people use, abuse and neglect these beautiful animals. From carnival ponies to horse and carriage rides, these horses are not allowed to be free, in most cases. Other rescued horses were saved from neglect - standing in dirty stalls leading to permanent leg damage, or poor nutrition leading to blindness. We've seen some very sad stories of horses that could not be saved from past abuse.

One happy story, however, is Rio! Rio is a gorgeous paint horse who is only about 3 years old. He could not be ridden, possibly due to an injury by his previous owner. Our friend and Rio's hero has taken him in and we were lucky enough to visit.

After giving Rio a bath, his favorite thing to do is roll in the dirt. :)



He is one of the lucky ones! Just remember to look into areas where these animals could be abused. Carriage horses and amusement park "rides" should be avoided and researched. Horses (and all animals!) should not have to be 'saved.'

Happy Valentine's Day!

I shifted my blog over to this new address and wonder if anyone will find me!

I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day and share some very fun vegan Valentine's gifts that I got!


I was so excited to see so many vegan items that included t-shirts, chocolates, and even some "lotions & potions!" Jamie knows what I like and picked out all of these things for me! :) One of my favorite things was this bowl:


!!!! I have been watching these pottery bowls on Etsy and other vegan sites and wished I had one. It's a great serving dish, and in this case... it's serving a Valentine's box of chocolate covered raisin clusters! Mmmm

Here is one of the shirts Jamie picked out for me. I love this one with the words, the design and the softness! Factory Farms *are* mean and nasty, so I will happily wear this!

CandiCane lip balm! Plum and Peppermint... I have not heard of this scent before and it's quickly becoming addicting! Great name too. ;)

Tofu Scrambler! Yay! Breakfast in bed! Also in this photo is some gummy "cola" flavored filling-ripper-outers. So worth it! The tiny green book is very funny; it's called "How I Get My Protein" and can be used when you get asked that same old question and you just get tired of answering! Take a peek through the book and it lists chickpeas, broccoli, soy milk, cashews, and many other foods to put people at ease that we will not become sickly from lack of protein! (Well, as long as you actually *eat* those foods and don't live on raisin clusters and cola gummies!)

This adorable shirt will be worn very soon! I love the vegan banner on it!

These heart-shaped chocolates have a hint of lavender in them! Pretty *and* good! All vegan... so hard to believe!

Hello my newest friend... the vegan raisin cluster. Although we have just met, I feel like we could spend the rest of our lives together. Or at least on holidays when Jamie spoils me.

Jamie knows I love my lotions and potions, so he picked out some awesome ones: a lavender hand & body cream, an oatmeal & aloe facial mask, and some BWC hairspray! I also have vegan body shimmer... hmmmmmm


One last look at this bowl! It's really great to see it in person after eyeing it online for about two years now! I may have to start a collection!


Happy Valentine's Day and thanks for stopping by!
Thank you JSB <3

Full Nest

I had to share this photo I came across of a momma bird feeding her babies! I was about to photograph a bride on her wedding day, when I spotted this nest in the patio. I got a few shots because I could not resist!

Poke!

Hi! Thanks for stopping by!



Thanks to Britty for her photographic skills in creating this image for the blog! With the word "Vegan" written backwards on my monitor and while holding very still... the artist and her macro lens got a pretty cool shot!

Election '08

I'm still on my "blogging hiatus," but will return and update this site when I have the time! I do miss blogging! I have been looking at your blogs though and peeking in!

I did have to post regarding the election though and say YAY!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm very happy to be part of such a huge change for our country. I can't say enough about how exciting this is. :) A united Unites States? It is possible, and a change this big gives proof and further hope. One point stands out to me regarding this election:

Personal Responsibility

PS - Congrats to us in MA for protecting the grey hounds!!!! :)

Marine Parks

When I was little, I thought my dream job would be to work at SeaWorld. I thought it would be fun to be around dolphins, seals, and whales and train them. I even began college studying Marine Affairs to pursue this "goal." As I found out more and researched more, it was not so easy to see the good side of aquariums.

My dream to work at SeaWorld has died over the years as I researched how the animals were obtained and how the industry promotes cruelty and dominance over animals that should be free. I suppose I always knew, I just wanted to believe the shows were doing some good. I wanted to believe in what we were told; it is all for education. What a bunch of shit that is.

Orcas have become my favorite animal of all, and I have my collection of stuffed orcas and posters from the Whale Museum on the San Juan Island in Washington state, and various other places I've visited that help whales and educate in a healthy way. When I recently saw the movie, "Lolita, Slave to Entertainment," I knew I had to buy it and blog about it.



Lolita was captured in 1970 when 10 of her family members were taken from the Puget Sound in Washington State. Some of the captured adults and young whales drowned trying to swim through the holding nets to reunite with their family. As par for the course in the industry, the dead bodies were hidden from the public by sinking them. The dead whales were sliced down the middle and filled with rocks, and their tails wrapped with rope and anchored. (The public would not know of this, had they not washed up on shore.) The survivors of the capture were sold all over the world in the name of entertainment. Some went to Japan, Texas, the UK, Australia, etc... While her other captured family members have since died in captivity, Lolita went to Florida and remains there today in a tank as the sole remaining whale from that Puget Sound Round-Up.

"Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty." ~ Albert Einstein




I've been to the birthplace of Lolita many times. I have even seen her pod swimming free in the Puget Sound. The photo above was taken where Lolita should be living right now. Her mother is still alive there, and her family pod is together. Lolita's return to the wild would be an important step in changing how we educate people, and would be a possible feat for Lolita and her pod.

Please look into this movie if you still support Aquariums like SeaWorld or Seaquarium. The industry just as ridiculously full of lies as is the dairy industry promoting cow's milk for our health. Our new way of educating could be much more advanced, fair, and respectful if we used computer generated scenes and exhibits, Imax shows, and wildlife cameras of actual footage. Seeing a whale in a tank is not studying whales at all. It's teaching the audience that dominance over others is acceptable and makes money. What a horrible message to send out.

If you would like to read more about Lolita or join the campaign to rescue her, visit one of the websites below:

www.SlavetoEntertainment.com

www.miamiseaprison.com

www.rattlethecage.org

The biggest way to beat this industry so they will stop capturing and killing animals, is simply to not support them. Do not give them your money. Do not buy a ticket. Stop the demand for the capturing and killing.

Here is a link to other ways to help:

How to Help

Eat to Live!

On Week 4 of Eat to Live, and it's going very well. We've been eating so many veggies and fruits, lots of raw ones too, and getting our Omega's from raw nuts instead of the oils that I previously over-used in cooking! I love all the fruits, nuts, beans, grains, and veggies we've been having. Right now, I am simmering a pot of 17 bean and barley *no-salt* soup. (Trader Joe's! Bagged beans, and a no-salt vegan bouillon from Whole Foods.)

Anyhow, here's a glimpse into my kitchen on E2L...

Double steamer with red cabbage in one tray, and sweet potato in the other. My fruit and veggie bowls on the side are usually always refilled with fresh stuff now and it doesn't go bad like in the days before E2L! ;)


I have to be careful not to eat more than 1 ounce of raw nuts and seeds per day because of the fats, but I do like to get at least half an ounce. I measure it now, and here is a mixture of raw pumpkin seeds and raw sunflower seeds at exactly 1 ounce. (no salted ones on E2L!)


Lastly, my favorite breakfast "cereals." It's so simple since we just grab some oats, barley, spelt, or rye flakes. Sometimes we will do a mixture of them all. It doesn't take a lot to fill up on these, and it's great with unsweetened soy milk!


Anyhow, it has been going very well, and I am noticing how badly I had previously been eating. Being vegan does not mean you naturally eat well and will be in perfect shape. Oh no... you can certainly make horrible food choices being vegan too. It's easy to be over-weight and be vegan, and I'm seeing how much I still have to learn to find a way of eating that works best for me and makes me feel the best I can. I think we're getting there though!

Hope you are all having a great summer!

Eat to Live Again

Most of you have already heard of the book Eat to Live by Dr. Fhurman. I've owned the book for some time now, and even gave Jamie a copy because I thought the information was so important. He and I have recently revisited this book, but with a new motivation. We had previously been drinking coffee (me!) and soda (Jamie!) and eating out lots. It just wasn't working out, and we realized that we needed to be more serious about our health. No more French Fries/Chips!

ETL is a book that needs to be read completely for the information, as it is not a "diet." Jamie and I are reading it and are in our second week of "detox" on the six week plan. We are very happy with the results so far!

So, with no added salt, sugar, empty calories, oils (aside from whole nuts)... we've been creating dishes that are full of vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, seeds, and all the foods that we actually like, but forgot we liked!

It's not hard to follow this style of eating, you just have to re-learn what to eat. (Just like when I went vegan.) It's easier with a partner though, and Jamie and I are lucky that neither of us is still eating chips and soda.

Tonight's dinner was a mixture of adzuki beans, mushrooms and onions cooked in a bit of water, nutritional yeast, and lemon juice. (no salt or oil!) On top was some quinoa cooked in low-salt veggie broth and water. All served on a bed of arugula.



Using FitDay as a guide, I see this dinner had a low fat/calorie ratio, but also had 40 grams of protein!



I'm happy with all the fruits and veggies we are eating, and also all the raw meals we've had. The way our bodies are responding to this way of eating is letting us know that it's right for us! Congrats to Jamie on a super successful week 1, and also for initiating the six week detox!