Tag Archives: gluten-free

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Naturally Sweet Desserts

Philadelphia/Cherry Hill Area
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I love it when I randomly find new local businesses, which is why I kind-of like the new “Hatchery” in Whole Foods. They bring smaller businesses out into the front for people to see. Truthfully, I love the idea of farmer markets, but I never go to them. Why? Well, I don’t like getting out and about after work hours and I am usually tied up on Saturdays with my CSA. So I think the Hatchery is able to hit a wider range of people, or catch the attention of people who are waiting in line (which was myself today).

I was looking for Follow Your Heart Ranch Dressing, I didn’t find it. A little bummed I went to pay for the few items I had and saw the word “vegan” at the hatchery stand. Oh yeah? What’s going on here? A small bakery was set up with some cupcakes, brownies, and little pies. Naturally Sweet Desserts is a small bakery that is starting up. You can find them at various events, farmer markets, and they have a delivery service.

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So what is special about HER business? Well, it reminds me a little of Sweet Freedom, lots of natural ingredients and not too sweet, but Naturally Sweet isn’t as “free” of allergens as Sweet Freedom. For example, I ended up getting the PB brownie which has peanuts and wheat. But the ingredients list is fairly short- whole wheat flour, cocoa, peanut butter, avocado, hemp milk, turbinado sugar, coconut yogurt, applesauce, spices, and flax seed.

How was it? Super fudgy and yummy. I personally love a fudgey brownie. It is also super filling. I could only eat half of a brownie at first. My only complaint is that it had a little bit of a bite. I am thinking maybe she had a little too much ginger in the mix? But if I walked by her stand in a market I would totally grab something again. I paid $4 for this brownie, and seeing the ingredients list, I have no problem with that. If you want an even better deal you can buy a dozen from her website for $29.50, saving you $18.50.

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The downside is that this is a small business that is starting up. So you can’t just walk into a store and buy one brownie. As mentioned she has been going to farmer markets, and looks like delivering to a few other sources (like a CSA). You can go to their website to see which events they will be at, and their facebook page as well. But when talking to the owner today, I saw that she was mostly planning on doing a delivery service for at least the winter season (I don’t know if she will be going to farmer markets again in the summer). You can go to their website and send an email (on the contacts page) and ask about their delivery service, and she will add you to her mailing list. She will send out emails each week for people to reply with orders.

It sounded like she was making deliveries in the Philadelphia and Cherry Hill area, so email her to get specifics. I personally don’t eat sweets that much and will make baked goods for myself when need be. I hope the best to Naturally Sweet Desserts, and like a said, if they ever open a permeant location or start doing farmer markets again, I will be there.


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I love YUKI. Most people don’t know who the heck she is, and I don’t blame most western readers! YUKI is a singer from Japan, and I fell in love with her lead vocals in the band Judy and Mary. I pretty much love all projects and collaborations that YUKI does including a duet with Chara, an album with some B-52 members, and her superband Mean Machine. And if you click on any of those links- sorry for the low quality videos. The songs are pretty old, 13-15 years old, plus Japan doesn’t really like using YouTube as a way to promote music videos.

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My love for YUKI got stronger as I got older because of her bold personality. She is creative, spunky, cute, and sexy all into one. Then as she went solo, she got married, had children, and snag about it all. She seemed grounded, and still continues to sing even with children, which isn’t that common on Asian countries. She has released lots of photograph books, novels, and drawings that show she really does more than just music. Oh her music videos are visually awesome!

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I picture YUKI being a pretty traditional Mom. So I imagine her making homemade Japanese style curry from scratch. She would probably use Beyond Meat Chicken-free Strips since she friggin loaded, and because she just doesn’t have time to make her own seitan. If you want you can use a curry packet, I found that some of the Japanese curry packets are actually vegan, but still read the backs before buying. I find Japanese foods love to sneak in bonito flakes at any given chance! Also check thetonkatsu sauce when buying it in a store.  The brand I bought was vegan, but there weren’t any others to compare ingredients to. Making this curry at home isn’t that much extra work. All you need to do cook a roux in another small pot, adding maybe like 5 extra minutes to the cook time.

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YUKI would be a little fun so I think she would shape her rice into animals for her kids. This isn’t very hard, and I was even able to do it with brown rice! Just try and get a short grained brown rice, and I got sticky results using this method. Remember- steaming the rice afterwards is key and you will want to let the rice start way before you start the curry so it can cool down to comfortably shape it. Oh! And don’t forget to wet your hands, otherwise all the rice will stick to your hands. I used nori sheets and kitchen shears to cut out facial features. This makes the rice characters cute, and the nori melts in the curry, giving you some extra vitamins and much needed iodine. 

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Sweet Freedom

1424 South Street Philadelphia, PA 19146
1039 W. Lancaster Ave Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
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UPDATE: When the post was written there were three locations for Sweet Freedom. Since then they have closed down their Collingwood location. The photos and review talk heavily about this location, but most items are available depending on the day and season at their Philadelphia and Bryn Mawr locations.

I first came to Sweet Freedom because I friend told me about a vegan bakery in Philadelphia. I went in and got a root beer float cupcake and a oatmeal cookie sandwich. My husband and I scarfed down our snacks and as we left I saw a big “yes, all food is gluten-free.” I had no clue at the time! I shouldn’t of been so surprised that the food was going to be so delicious. I knew before hand that they were on the show Cupcake Wars (season 2 episode 8). In fact Sweet Freedom is the most dietary friendly bakery I’ve ever seem. It is soy-free, corn-free, dairy-free, egg-free, vegan, refined sugar-free, peanut-free, and gluten-free.

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I think I would be lying if all the desserts were totally undetectable of being so allergy friendly. Some foods work better than others, and some are kind-of awesome as their own product. For example their “cake balls” are my favorite. They go by many different names, cake truffles, cake pops, whatever you want. From the non-vegan cake pops I’ve eaten in the past, they weren’t that great, in fact they tasted like undercooked cake in my opinion. But Sweet Freedom’s cake balls aren’t too sweet, and much drier (in a good way). I can safely say that I prefer their cake balls over traditional ones.

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Their biggest selling point is their cupcakes but they dapple in lots of other desserts. They have cobbler bars, cookies, cookie sandwiches, bars, sweet breads, donuts, and even eclairs. All of these desserts can be found at all three of their locations. They started out in Philadelphia, and then expanded into Collingswood New Jersey. At the new location they decided to give juices, smoothies, and ice cream a try. Then they opened another location in Bryn Mawr Pennsylvania where they seem to carry the same things as the Collingswood location.

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So what do I recommend getting? Well, if you want to get a cupcake, I suggest their root beer float. But any of their cupcakes are pretty awesome, though I much prefer their chocolate frosting over their vanilla. I love their facon-bacon topped donuts, and their magic bars. Any of their cake balls are awesome as well.

I would say to skip their juice or smoothie if you go to their Collingswood or Bryn Mawr locations. They have always been hit or miss for me. It isn’t something they make frequently so I found that not all people working there make it with the same consistency. But I do recommend picking up one of their lattes or hot chocolates. They are very rich. I personally ask for half creamer, half coconut milk to make it not too rich.

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And let’s talk about their ice cream! I love this stuff. They don’t serve it as plain ice cream you would scoop into a bowl. They instead make them into ice cream sandwiches and ice cream pops. They are both amazing. They ice cream is fairly light, making a great reward for a hot day. You can focus on the ice cream flavors with the pops, like with their fruit flavors such as peach or strawberry. But their ice cream sandwiches are pretty much to die for. I am unsure how many of their locations offer the ice cream, but I know their Collingswood location does.

Their newest addition to the stores are gluten-free and yeast-free breads. I am not too wild about them, but some loafs would make a great bread option for sandwiches. They also carry some breads that are hard to find vegan versions of like Challah bread. And if you aren’t into the sweets, they usually make a tomato pie once a day that is pretty tasty as well.

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Which location is the best? Well, the Collingswood duh! It has ice cream! Okay, so each place has their own strong points. The Collingswood location is a little nice since it is slower and you can get a little bit more privacy. As mentioned, they have coffee, smoothies, juices, and ice cream. They will also appear at the Collingswood Farmer’s Market. I have sadly not been to the Bryn Mawr location, but from what I understand carried many of the same foods as the Collingswood location.

The Philadelphia location, from what I understand, mostly just does the baked goods. They may offer coffee, and the last time I checked doesn’t do the juice, smoothies, or ice cream. This location is pretty busy and you will probably see a bunch of people coming in and out. There is more seating as this location compared to their Collingswood location.

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Overall I can say this is one of my favorite bakeries. I am aware if I bake a cake at home, it probably will be like more universally accepted as “cake like.” But I am not restricting the type of sugar I use or not excluding gluten. But I think their baked goods are sweet but have something light and addictive about them.

I think overall what I like about their baked goods is that I always feel great afterwards. I never feel “super horrible” after eating a chocolate cake, but I do feel a little sluggish. With Sweet Freedom’s sweets, I barely feel like I ate anything in the same way I feel after eating a piece of fruit. I love buying their agave sodas and a cookie sandwich and sneaking them into the movie theater. Much better than popcorn!

Who would I recommend checking this place out? Health food nuts who want great sweets and people who don’t like things too sweet will love this place! The owner does a great job taking complex flavors from the various flours and making them work with the featured flavor of the dessert. I may love this place, but I know that it isn’t for sugar junkies. If you dream cupcake is light fluffy and half frosting then turn around and bake something at home.


Every week I almost always make a batch of cookies. Why? They travel easily for my husband’s lunches. I mean, I eat them sometimes as well. Truthfully, sometimes making cookies at home isn’t necessarily cheaper than buying them in stores, but most of the time they are. So I decided to review some cookie recipes that were available online. I keep in mind when they should be eaten (aka how sweet and decadent they are) and how well they kept.

If any of you guys have tried these cookies with different results PLEASE SHARE! There are lots of variables to baking so hearing other people’s baking results help figure out how to get the correct results. Everyone- start baking!

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Chai Spice Snickerdoodles

I had to alter this recipe a little. I forgot I never replaced my cardamon and therefore used a mixed garam masala instead for the snickerdoodle sugar mix. They still turned out delicious. I can’t image the cookies tasting that much different if I used the exact spice measurements given in the recipe.

These cookies are pretty darn sweet and fall under the dessert category. They were crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. They tasted great as a nice little snacks. But sadly I didn’t store them properly and some of them got stale. The best thing to do with them is to dunk the stale cookies in chai tea. Yeah, chai cookies in chai tea. It is amazing.

Bottom Line: Super sweet & Yummy

Quinoa Gingersnap Cookies

I always like when I find gluten-free recipes that don’t just use an all purpose mix. There is something nice to have control over every ingredient used. So I was a little happy to make these cookies, but was a little skeptical. Why? She only uses quinoa flour, which can have a specific aftertaste.

The cookies come together rather quickly, about 15 minutes, with a quick clean up. I skipped the rolled sugar outside, but it would definitely add a nice quality to the cookies. I also used only a small amount of brown sugar, using mostly just white. I think it worked out fine since I ended up using blackstrap molasses over normal molasses, which has much more of a bite.

The end result? Pretty awesome. They still had a little bit of a quinoa taste, and the blackstrap molasses definitely had a specific taste as well. But I felt pretty confident handing these cookies to my husband for his lunch. Five cookies have 12% calcium for the day and 10% iron. Not too bad honestly for unfortified cookies.

Bottom Line: Not bad, pretty nutritious

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am a little torn on these cookies. They are yummy, but cookie? I mean isn’t that a stretch? They are so fluffy and puffy they feel a little bit more like muffin tops than cookies. I am a little torn, they are delicious but I feel lied to that they are put into a cookie category.

They were great but there are two things I wish she suggested. One is be careful about overheating the butter, I didn’t put much thought into it and mixed in the chocolate chips, which melted into the batter. I got a cool marbling effect instead. No big deal. Second thing is that these cookies probably taste better the next day. Toss them in a bag or a well sealed container overnight, and they get even more moist. I’m not complaining.

Bottom Line: Puffy Cookies, which isn’t bad?

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

These cookies tasted amazing. The ingredients list is so short that I was a little afraid about how they would turn out. Answer: Fabulous, they turned out fabulous! They are soft, crumbly, delicate, and very lemony. Which makes them amazing, but didn’t fit the bill as “daily cookies for lunch.” I am planning on making these for my yearly Christmas cookies.

The only problem is the step where she makes you roll the cookie dough in powder sugar. I am conflicted since I didn’t get any “crinkle” effect on the cookie. I think the dough absorbed too much of the powdered sugar and the dough color wasn’t nearly dark enough to register. But it did give a little bit of a crusty outside, probably from the sugar melting? I would probably skip this step.

Bottom Line: Nice dessert cookie

Healthy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

I think this cookie goes into the “it’s too healthy for a dessert category.” The recipe uses banana, peanut butter, rolled oats, and apple sauce to make the bulk of these cookies. The end result isn’t a tasty cookie. The nuts in the cookie gets soft and taste out of place. The cookies also didn’t have a normal texture as other cookies. They weren’t soft, pillowy, or crunchy. Instead they had a kind-of rubber feel when bitting into them.

The cookies aren’t nearly sweet enough, which makes me feel like they should been playing up savory flavors. Instead of chocolate chips maybe have some sun-dried tomatoes. Maybe chopped herbs, etc. I think that is my biggest complaint about “healthy” snacks, people are trying to cut down on sugar. By all means, I think things are usually too sweet, but not these cookies. They might of been better if I used normally sweetened mainstream peanut butter, but I can’t image by that much.

Bottom Line: Texture stinks, not sweet enough.

Teff Almond Butter Cookies

Man talk about recipe flop. Well, I have two theories about what happened. The obvious one is that I used teff not teff flour. My local store special ordered the wrong thing and I felt bad and thought I could grind it down into a flour myself. I didn’t do that great of a job.

The second theory is that I made them on a hot day and the almond butter and oil just were too much. I am thinking that if I maybe put the dough in the refrigerator for a few minutes the oils would of melted slower and made a more solid cookie.

But the cookies TASTE pretty good, which might motivate me to try the recipe again. Might being the key word because these cookies are expensive. Each ingredient is a big dent in the bank, which is a bummer because as mentioned the cookies were flat but tasty.

Bottom Line: Tasted great, not ruling them out yet as a flop


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Damn these short winter days, killing the food blogging realm. I never really put much thought to it before the blog, but nighttime really clobbers photographs. Since I am a working girl in a small apartment, I pretty much only have time to take photos of food the night I make it. Maybe one day I will have enough time to make these great dishes in the middle or the day, or have a special corner to set up lights to photograph at night.

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My latest dish was inspired from our last trip for Chinese takeout. My husband has switched over from General Tso’s Chicken to General Tso’s Tofu. But I haven’t found a place in New Jersey that I liked their tofu, my favorites being in Philadelphia. I’ve been going nuts for some of the baked cauliflower dishes. I thought I might try making a tofu and cauliflower mix.

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Of coarse to make this dish gluten free you have to make some alterations. First is that you need a gluten-free soy sauce or something similar. Coconut aminos, braggs, or tamari should work wonderfully in this dish. You also need to be careful about which hoisin sauce you buy. Most have wheat in it, but Joyce Chen has a gluten-free and kosher hoisin sauce. These are pretty much the only major problems to tackle with this recipe.

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This wasn’t a planned recipe for the blog. I was making a shopping list at the beginning of the week and I always plan a “oh crap dinner.” It is something brainless for me to do and get made in a jiffy, just in case I work late, or just feel tired. This week I figured I would make a creamy tomato soup. I am not sure what possessed me to do so since I am very particular about my tomato soup.

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The end result was an absurdly easy soup. It didn’t take long at all, possibly 20 to 30 minutes. I used canned tomatoes, so the only thing you need to chop are onions and garlic (which I chopped poorly since, you know, blending) Although this dish doesn’t adhere to my ideals of cooking with fresh ingredients it is still more healthful than having a can of campbell’s tomato soup.

It also keeps spending money down. The broth was homemade, and could be made with homemade milks. It also uses mostly shelf stable ingredients, so if you can easy make this without preparation (depending on how well stocked your pantry is). This makes a lot of soup so you have lots of extras for lunches or for freezing for another dinner.

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What I love about the soup is that it begs to have bread dipped in it, or to have some sort of grilled sandwich in it. And if you are feeling up for it that night, you can easily make some hot crispy sandwich while the soup is boiling. 

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Remember how I mentioned I’ve been a little bummed lately? I am trying to be a little proactive about it. Tonight I am going try out a run in Philadelphia with my friend. Hopefully all goes according to plan, it is suppose to snow on and off all day. I am a little nervous since my running has been pretty null lately. I’ve been much happier sleeping in or lifting weights inside.

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This granola is a great way to add a little bit of a christmas flair to any normal dishes. Add a little granola on yogurt, now you have GINGERBREAD yogurt. Add a little to your chia pudding, BAM Christmas-a-fied. I have big plans for this granola, and if all goes according to plan, I will posting the recipe on here.

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This recipe was a big labor of love. It happened to use a lot of Thanksgiving leftovers, so there were lots of pecans, walnuts, and cashews in there. There is also home dried apples. I figured I would give it a try since my husband picked 16 pounds of apples before our local orchard closed down for the year. I couldn’t even tell you what types of apples are in there. I just kind-of grabbed a bunch from our bags, diced and dehydrated. They are pretty yummy in oatmeal or chia pudding. If you don’t feel like making your own diced apples, you can easily just chop up dried apple rings.

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I am super thankful this year that my Mother in Law is doing a mostly vegan Thanksgiving. Yeah, there is a turkey highlighting the evening. But for all the sides she put forth the effort to make all vegan sides. Granted I volunteered for a bunch of sides (1 pie, 1 crumble, lentil balls, 2 casseroles, and vegan gravy) but I would of still have plenty of grub to eat. I am also thankful I don’t have to worry about my husband’s tummy at the end of the night. He is lactose intolerant, but sometimes will have some lactaid. But sometimes, even with the lactaid, too much dairy will hit him hard.

I am also thankful that I have a loving husband who will talk to me for an hour straight about the merits of the Harry Potter books and movies. We talked all morning about the symbolism in the book, and how it can positively effect a kids life. You know, talking about death, puberty, love, family, etc. Some are direct, some are not. The only reason why the conversation ended was because we both had to use the bathroom. 

What are you guys thankful for?

Hopefully you are thankful for my Weekend reading posts. We have a lot of Thanksgiving related articles and videos this week. Maybe a little too heavy of the videos. I hope you guys actually watch them. I’ve heard rumors that blog readers don’t like watching videos.

The United States of Thanksgiving

Remember when I mentioned in my Tofurky or Not Tofurky post about how many Italian American Thanksgivings look a lot like an Italian American restaurant? Thanksgiving is different for everyone and New York Times covers it pretty well. They have 52 different recipes that might make it on a Thanksgiving tables with some local flair. Clearly not every Maine local is going to put lobster mac and cheese on their table, but I am sure it isn’t unheard of (I mean I DID see lots of lobster mac and cheese on the menus there). 

Booze Before Chews: A Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Drinking Game

I don’t like making gender stereotypes, but most guys tend to watch football while women watch the parade. I was part of the parade watching crowd. I am also all about day drinking so I am all about drinking games for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Cookies and Sangria makes a game for the parade, and provides exercise or drinking options. It’s a shame that 1) I need to cook a bunch this year and you know, don’t want chop a finger off, and 2) My sister works all Thanksgiving and being hammered during work is “unprofessional.”
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Against the Grain

All the hype around gluten-free foods is starting to get annoying. No, I don’t deny that there are people with celiacs disease, or people who are gluten sensitive. I do have a hard time believing that gluten is overall a health risk to the entire nation. I recently watched an episode of Parenthood, and there was a gluten-free, fat-free, dairy-free, super healthy dessert made for their father who just had heart surgery. I found the scene annoying since I see no particular reason why a man with heart problems should take gluten out of their diet. It has become a blanket term for “new fangled healthiness.”

But having tons of gluten-free options is a good thing. People with celiacs disease have food they can eat, and it makes it easier to entertain guests with the disease. There are also lots of kids who have temporary wheat allergies, which makes life easier for parents. Overall I think it is just important for everyone else to eat a little bit of everything. Think about what the average American eats? Toast and eggs for breakfast. There’s some wheat. An Italian sub from the local deli. There’s some wheat. For dinner some spaghetti and meatballs. Wheat in the pasta, and probably some wheat in the meatballs. Suddenly we are told that there are other grains, and we should probably start rotating them.

Back in Black – Black Friday and What Black Thursday Protesters Are Doing Wrong

Usually the main person who picks the articles on here is me (Jennifer). But Alexa posted an article on Facebook the other day about Black Friday. The article made the argument that people should shop if they feel like it, and workers should be allowed to work if they want to. Alexa and I both agreed that the person missed the point of the black friday or black thursday protests. I was pretty ticked about the whole article, wrote a whole bunch about inequality. Then Louis Black went on the Daily Show and ranted about Black Friday. Yup. He pretty much got it all right.

Alexa and I have both worked retail and in restaurants, two businesses where you are expected to work during holidays, weekends, and late at night. We both have been blessed that we work at small stores so we don’t work on Thanksgiving, but my sister who is a writer actually has to spend her whole Thanksgiving on the computer posting hot deals for the next day. (and not drinking during the parade with me) She gets an hour off to celebrate Thanksgiving, then hops back on the computer.

I get that people need to work on holidays. There were some occasions where my Mother worked holidays (she’s a nurse). We simply celebrated them on different days. I know people go to restaurants on holidays (which I don’t like, but not going into that), movies, and grab last minute food and drinks for celebrations. It is worth noting there is a difference from Walmart opening up for Thanksgiving day and your local liquor store staying open. Walmart is chaotic, and involves more workers than normal. The local liquor store might only need one or two people working the shop.

And that to me, is where the major problem is. I think I wouldn’t care as a worker to come in, work on a slow day and miss Thanksgiving. But put me in one of the busiest days of the year? And miss a family holiday? And then be told I should be happy that I could work that day? Get out of here. Thanksgiving is one of the few holidays that most Americans celebrate. When people don’t have family nearby, they celebrate with other people. 

Daily Show – Garden Crate + The Great  Crate Debate

Sorry guys, I didn’t mean to post so many videos. There was just a really good episode of the Daily Show. Jon Stewart talks about a bill in New Jersey that would outlaw gestation crates. Alexa and I both live in New Jersey so this is something we are really interested in. I posted the video for the first half of the segment, but left a link for a “debate” about gestation crates. Even though Jon Stewart isn’t vegan or vegetarian I think it is great that he is very open about talking where food comes from.

Chris Christie’s veto is really annoying, but we can happily sign a petition to show that we care a lot of about the issue.

Do Vegans Kill More Animals Than Meat-Eaters?

With Thanksgiving coming up, we might find ourselves sitting at a table with our distant Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins. We’ve all been there, being grilled by a person trying to get expose the vegan as being a big giant phony. I Fucking Love Science recently posted an article about how a vegan diet actually kills more animals. Although the data might be truthful, it isn’t a realistic display of what people actually eat. It would imply that my vegan meal consists of only grains, and the omnivorous diet is only grass fed beef.

Emily make great points and approaches to topic in a great way. I’ve had friends talk about how they had summer jobs plucking dead mice and snakes from crops. It happens, and there isn’t anyone trying to hide that. Watch Emily, get educated, and you’ll be able to make an great argument at the dinner table.


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I just came home from my trip to Sebring Florida for my Nanna and Pappy’s 60th Wedding Anniversary. And I have to point out, when the average American cuts out meat and dairy from their diet, they are stuck with carbs and sugar! As all vegans do, my husband and I packed a lot of clif bars and snacks, and I was shocked how close we were to eating all of them. Oddly I think it would of been easier to go vegan for the trip if we didn’t have to spend it was family. Then we could of had free reign over restaurants and breakfast.

But when I came home I scarfed down lots of proteins as I didn’t really eat what I normally would during the trip. Then decided I would go on a detox afterwards. And man, did I really need a detox. I am a little hesitant to talk about detox or cleanses, since they have earned themselves a bad rep. I am not really a fan of extreme cleanses where you juice all day or drink lemon water. I prefer cleanses that involving eating more whole foods. In fact my most common detox is a smoothie cleanse, drinking smoothies and soups throughout the day. I like this approach because I don’t deprive my body of calories and fiber that keeps me full. I usually add salads after a few days, and transition into raw foods.

I’ve mentioned my detox diet in the past. I posted an recipe for a Kimchi Detox Soup, which I am thinking I should make pretty soon.

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Well, this smoothie was like a slice of summer in all this cold weather. I used cantaloupe that I got from my CSA during the summer. The cantaloupe was so ripe it was pretty mushy, and didn’t really taste great by itself. Freezing it was a perfect decision, as it was just the texture I needed for a smoothie. 

I use to drink juiced carrot, cantaloupe, and orange all the time. So I thought that carrot would give a great flavor to the smoothie. It is only a small amount but it gives depth to the flavor. It also helps with the body of the smoothie, preventing too much a slushy texture. Plus, you are adding a veggie to your breakfast! You can also add a handful of green to the smoothie, it will just not be such a pretty color.

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My goal is to be more adventurous with trying out blog recipes. I know too many people who inundate their Pinterest pages with food recipes, but never actually try any of them. More disturbing is how many beautiful food photos result in blah recipes. I wish that Pinterest would include a “rate that recipe” button, but until that day, I can write reviews.

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First round of reviews goes to the Everything-Free category. Sort of. As mentioned in a previous post, my husband and I have been on an elimination diet that forced us to cut a LOT of foods from our diet. The first two weeks we eliminated gluten, soy, dairy, and peanut from our meals. It’s been a bit of a struggle, especially since I didn’t know which recipes to substitute in to our new diets. But thanks to the invention of tags, I’ve been able to peruse various blogs for help. Of course not everything was a winner.

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