Tag Archives: bite size vegan

Sunday Reading 11-08-15 #54

November 9, 2015

It if funny reading blogs and hearing people be bummed out about the cooler weather. I am loving it. I love layering clothing, I like snuggling with blankets, and I love a big bowl of soup. Plus I am getting excited about the holidays since we are probably able to enjoy it a lot more this year. I am no longer working with retail, though the framing business does get a little more jobs during Christmas. So all the holiday planning is happening, which is a little less stressful.

I am also starting to think about what to make for Thanksgiving dinner, which is stressful because I started to plot it in my head then my Mother In Law was like “oh I can make this!” and it brought my plans crashing down. Not because it is us competing to make food, but because I forget there are certain foods that people expect in Thanksgiving foods. Which makes me think, does anyone have any good carrot side dishes? My Father in Law LOVES carrots, but it is just cut boiled carrots, and no one wants them. I don’t think any of us like sweet carrots, so that rules out orange juice glazed carrots. If anyone has any ideas, please share!

Today is all about catching up on posts, and getting a few things done around the house. Yesterday was, ugh, weird. My husband had me buzz his hair and the machine kept making a painfully loud noise. Sure it was working but it sounds like it might explode mid-cut. This led to us fighting right before spending the day with his parents. This worked out in the end, but I think if our hair cutting buzzer whatever you call it breaks again, I am throwing in the hair cutting towel. I don’t know, it just seems wasteful if we have to buy a machine every three years to cut one person’s hair. Though I did get Jon to agree to cut his hair with me next time I make an appointment at Talking Headz. So that will get a post here at some point.

Food

What is neurogastronomy? A new branch of science is emerging on how to study food.

Some of you might of read a study that found animal and human DNA in veggie dogs. This article from Vox pretty much reassures us to not freak out.

I would really like to make this black bean cake. It just looks so ooey gooey and yummy!

Apparently there is a growing demand for natural dyes. I have mixed feelings. Yes, natural coloring is better but at the same time it feels weird looking for plant sources for something superficial as coloring.

I am not huge on The Kitchn recipes since most are not vegan, but this one with beans and greens look pretty tasty.

I love gingerbread and pumpkin flavored things! So I am excited about these pumpkin gingerbread spice muffins! She uses a gluten-free mix, but I might do a blend of regular flour with other flours.

Maybe since my husband and I have been watching the Great British Bake Off, we have been more interested in sweets. This sweet potato cake looks super nice, maybe something to make for a Christmas get together?

I love learning about movements for urban gardening. There are a bunch springing up teaching lower income family how to garden, teaching farming to at risk teens, and more. Bite Size Vegan does a quick video covering some movements that are more exclusively vegan.

Veganism

I found this article about how most coconuts are actually harvested by monkeys! It is an interesting read since the article basically come to the conclusion that isn’t enough information about the topic. I have to say that it doesn’t look like direct animal abuse, but then begs the question, are coconuts vegan?

There is a vegan soccer team? Okay that is a little misleading, more like a stadium that serves vegan food for a team.

Need another reason not to each chicken? How about adult diapers? Yup, this website is all about human rights for people working in the meat industry.

Health

I think I might of posted an article about how honey is just as bad a high fructose sugar, and now I have to bust my own bubble with this article. *sigh* I can’t argue with it because it is true, we shouldn’t jump to conclusions about tests, and if anything the study just is proving that the SUGAR in honey is just as bad as high fructose corn syrup, which is still important I think.

I’ve fallen behind on my workout routine, and this article about the connection between lifting weights in brain function gives me even more motivation to get my shit together.

I spent time when I should of been working (at work) reading about sports bras. It is surprisingly interesting.

Winter Coats

I know that winter coats that don’t have wool can be a hard task. Well, I was browsing on Modcloth an found some cute coats. I love coats, I would love to have 10 different ones to choose from but I know that is impractical, and I still many pre-vegan wool ones. I would donate them, but some have ripped lining or are too cute. I have one vegan winter coat, and it is actually just a blue version of this coat. I love how bright it is, especially when I lived in the city and everyone just had a black coat. Having a colored coat is cool since most of the time you can only see your jeans or black leggings underneath. There is a fuchsia coat by the same company that is vegan as well.

If you are looking for something retro try out this plaid cape! I am thinking about writing a post about getting hand-me downs and thrifting and how it falls in a vegan lifestyle. Sometimes cool throwback things get you to buy vegan.

Any EGL fans out there? Well there are three different cute coats you can get in the clothing style! I love the style but I am much too lazy to wear it, and too cheap to put together an outfit. This coat looks pretty cute, and it even has some little heart pockets! The winnipeg coat has a little bit of faux fur on it! It comes in a pastel blue with white fur or red with black fur. Both are cute, and I kind-of want one. Ugh! I want those and the yellow coat!

Posted by Jennifer in Sunday Reads Tags: bite size vegan, buzzfeed, chicken, CNN, earth sprout, eater, lives on the line, meat industry, new york times, npr, oxfam american inc, quartz, Sunday Read, sunday reading, the full helping, the kitchn, vegnews, Vox

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Sunday Reading 11-01-15 #53

November 1, 2015

I hope everyone had a happy Halloween. I think Alexa and I sure did. Alexa had to work but still got dress up as Ariel. Then changed for a spooky Halloween party. This year Jon and I wanted to the whole give away candy thing in our new home. We got a good amount of kids. While waiting we made vegan mummy dogs, brussel sprouts and sweet potatoes (scary to kids). We watched episodes of Simpson’s Tree House of Terror, seasons 2 to 7. When we finished we watched Ichabod Crane and The Brood. OMG, was The Brood good! I know who I’m going to be for Halloween next year- Nola!

Anyways, we have a big list of articles, probably because I’ve been all about Apple News. I’ve been reading so much more. I probably should take a break because some days I think I do feel a little overwhelmed by facts.

Food:

Not sure how many people will be able to read this, but New York Times wrote a profile on Smarties. I loved them since I was a kid but I love that they are vegan friendly. They also are based in New Jersey and Liz Dee is vegan herself! So I really try and support the company!

I really want to make these!

The New Yorker NAILS the almond milk versus cows milk debate. Okay not all the points! But brings up an important one about our food. We need variety, and we need to know how to handle our waste!

I first heard of savory oats from Oh She Glow’s cookbook with her red lentil oats. Now The Full Helping gives a lot of suggestions, which I should try taking up, especially for pre-run breakfast.

Two good videos from Eat Your Kimchi- one is a 3D chocolate maker! OMG gotta make these chocolates. The other is a dakgalbi recipe which makes me want to veganize it.

http://www.eater.com/2015/10/19/9553471/what-is-neurogastronomy

Spoopy Reads:

The New Yorker profiles several different black cats.

Alexa and I were super happy to try these out! They are like creamsicles.

Veganism:

I love this article by The Atlantic talking about taxidermy displays. I feel a similar feeling about zoos. There is this weird contradiction that zoos and taxidermy isn’t helping the animals directly and can be cruel. But at the same time it sparks interest and gets the average person concerned about the well being of the animals. And there is the fact that animals are beautiful, and it is amazing to see an animal that isn’t native to your area and marvel at it’s existence. Anyways, I hope you enjoy that read.

Apparently parts of India are banning cow meat and it isn’t making vegans happy. They have excellent reasons why this is problematic, which is also a reason why I feel like if you ditch meat, you need to ditch dairy as well.

One of my husband’s favorite Simpson’s episodes is the one where Lisa becomes a vegetarian, here is an article praising it.

This episode of Bite Size Vegan made me really happy. She has been trying to document the history of veganism, and found that people have been making the same arguments over time. If you have the time, I suggest watching it. The quotes are really beautiful.

I love learning new “ethnic” foods that are made vegan. This one is a cinnamon spiced milk drink from Puerto Rico.

Don’t go to these type of wildlife attractions!

Health:

I totally back up the Body Positivity Movement. Yeah, I think there is a link between obesity and health, but I think it is more complicated than “I’m fat therefore I’m sick.” I don’t like when people just chalk it up to “dieting” because there are some health habits that we picked up on in the USA that might be BETTER for our health overall (for example we consume more whole grains!) So I was happy to see yet another study that supports that there is more to weight than calories and calories out.

There is an interesting study focusing on the amount of words spoken to a child, and how it effects their ability to learn.

Posted by Jennifer in Sunday Reads Tags: bite size vegan, eat your kimchi, First Post, food by mars, kqed, mind body green, new york times, oh she glows, quartz, so delicious, sunday reading, sunday reads, the atlantic, the full helping, the new yorker, the slate

Sunday Reading 06-28-15 #42

June 28, 2015

My goodness this has been a super busy week. Monday I was so annoyed at my apartment that I had to get out, so I went into Philadelphia and walked around. So I figured Tuesday afterwork would be when I make a post. Midway through a HUGE storm came in and I had to shut the computer off since the lights kept going out. Then the next day I found out that the storm was super awful. There were tornado warnings, heck there WAS a tornado. Apparently my husband drove home from work during the height of the storm, which wasn’t cool. The next morning my husband finds out his work didn’t have power, I find out my gym class was canceled because of power outages, and so I called my work, which luckily had power.

Anyways, my husband ~~hogged~~ needed the computer for his work the next two days since it took so long to get the power back up. So I couldn’t work on the site. I also had my best friend who is currently living in Portland come to visit so we spent a day in Philly. Which was pretty cool. Then the next day I went out to dinner with my Mom, oh and got to watch the USA play against China. So I am PUMPED for the Germany vs US game, but I’m a little scared. It will be an intense game.

Anyways, I’m pooped today. I ran 5.3 miles and thought “Yeah today would be another great day to walk a lot in Philadelphia.” So I proceeded to walk 4 more miles in Philly with my husband. We originally were going to see the tall ships and the rubber ducky but the lines were crazy. And decided that it wasn’t going to be fun in the end. Oh well. Here are reads we picked this week and my list of produce:

Farm Round Up:

What I got:
1 quart of green beans
1/3 bag snow and snap peas
buttload of lemon & purple basil
nappa cabbage
1/2 bag bok choy
scallions
1 large kohlrabi
1 bunch beets + greens
2 large summer squash

What I’m cooking:
Black Bean Tempeh + Snow Pea + Nappa Cabbage Stir-fry
Bok choy + Tofu Stir-fry with vermicelli noodles
Kohlrabi + Red Lentil Curry
Purple Basil Ice Cream
Pickled Peas in a lemon and basil brine (recipe will be posted)
Chili with squash
Lentil Burgers with a side of green beans

Fun:

This was an interesting article about the richest witches in Romania. The photos are just simply an interesting look into a world that virtually unknown in the US.

We all know that technically tomatoes are fruit, but did you know blackberries aren’t berries? My mind got blown away from this SciShow video.

These photos of the Mermaid parade really put a smile on my face.

This tea mix sounds super tasty for the summer. If only my fridge was packed with greens.

Kaylah managed to find so many animals in the desert. How did I mess that up when I would visit my parents in Utah?!

I am excited that they are reopening the pop-up park near the art museum! That means one night will be beer after the art museum!

Political:

Emily from Bite Size Vegan interviews a man who is vegan and in the military. It is pretty interesting and brings up and important issue about how the military can support vegans better.

Ted wrote a really interesting post about a local restaurant, but it isn’t vegan. In fact it might make a vegan’s stomach turn, or maybe not at all. What the difference between cooking pig’s head and a pig’s belly? But then he takes a big turn and starts talking about illegal immigration, and I think brings up lots of great points. It is a great story that everyone should read, skip the first few paragraphs if you don’t want to read about stewing meats.

Living in an apartment in Philadelphia we had mice and cockroaches. The mice didn’t bother me as much as the cockroaches and house centipedes (I don’t know small things that go fast, mice are just big enough to not bother me.) Traps had been set, and I feel a little bad about it. Which is why I loved this article reflecting on all the housemates the author had over the years.

I loved this post about a guy who tries to eat all “women food” for a month. Which I like since I’ve had some guys who refused to eat something because it was targeted for women.

Posted by Jennifer in Sunday Reads Tags: 101 cookbooks, bite size vegan, huffington post, Modern Girl Blitz, new york times, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Museum of Art, scishow, sunday reading, sunday reads, ted nghiem, the dainty squid, vice

Sunday Reading 05-02-15 #34

May 3, 2015

Aww! It’s Alexa werkin out with her little bb brother!

This week is pretty mellow, I guess. I haven’t felt very passionate about what to share with everyone this week. Or maybe it is because so much of the articles I felt were important this week have been about Baltimore and Nepal. So maybe this week I feel a little like I should share happy stuff, and hopefully everyone has been keeping up to date on the other events.

I will be spending my day prepping hubs lunches (chopped veggies and cookies), making homemade peanut butter, and doing some spring cleaning. What about you guys? Any weekend plans?

Good News:

I don’t eat Nutella anymore because of the dairy, but there are tons of fun ways to use nut shells in an eco friendly way.

This is an interesting article about how Daniel Patterson and Roy Choi are working to build a healthy fast food restaurant for lower income families.

I love Kaylah’s super inspirational article about biking everyday for 30 days.

Vegan Stuff:

Bite Size Vegan does a great post and video about vegan tattoos. She was so much more thorough than I was, and she gives great links to various products that are vegan.

Jon Stewart is opening up a sanctuary for animals? I forgive you leaving the Daily Show.

Oh and his wife is writing a book about how to live with animals. I am interested in this as well.

My birthday is coming up and I wish I could go to this Vegan Beer Festival that is happening the day before my birthday!

Vegan Shit At Franklin Fountain:

Okay so one of my favorite stores isn’t all vegan, but it offers a lot of customization for vegans. Franklin Fountain is an ice cream parlor that is gives a nod to soda jerks. They feature seasonal treats, rotating coconut milk ice cream, and tons more. So their recent blog post features these vegan snacks:

Dairy-Free Strawberry and Green Tea Ice Creams (I am thinking of a rose soda with a scoop of green tea? Rose Matcha float anyone?)
Looks like their Wiener Eiskaffee can be veganized (with their vegan vanilla ice cream and coconut whipped cream)
Pinolero is the new soda drink… which looks super interesting- cornmeal, coconut cream, cocao and cinnamon

Oh yeah, anyone recognize Alexa’s brother? My hint is that if you recognize him, you probably are a die-hard crossfitter. xD

Posted by Jennifer in Sunday Reads Tags: bite size vegan, ecorazzi, sunday reading, sunday reads, the dainty squid

Sunday Reading 03-01-15 #25

March 1, 2015

Hi everyone! Another lazy day, it is snowing outside and turning into rain. I love snow but I am at the point where I am happy to see spring. It is the gross type of cold outside. It is constantly snowing then raining, creating sheets of ice overnight. Since it is warmer, the ground is muddy and gross. Basically it is harder to get outside and be active than the actual wintertime! Regardless, here is your weekly reads (and views.. or whatever).

Mapping Migration in the United States Since 1900

Have I ever expressed my love of data on this site before? I am not sure if this relates to food or veganism, but I find it really interesting regardless. New York Times made an interactive map saying where people moved to within the United States. The data is interesting and kind-of makes sense. Of coarse it gets pretty clunky in the Northeast since the states are so small. But it is a cool thing to check out if you lived in the US.

Simply Delicious Shower Thoughts with Cookie Monster

He had me on onions rings are just vegetable donuts.

The Clutter Cure’s Illusory Joy

I am in a current clutter crisis. Since I am helping my work move I’ve found some interesting yet questionable items, surgical stapler anyone? So this article about the world’s new obsession with clutter struck a cord with me.

Is Medication Vegan?

I love this new video from Emily of Bite Size Vegan. She breaks down what makes medications not vegan. I also like her conclusion, just because there are animal products or animal testing being done, doesn’t mean you should stop taking birth control or anti-depressants. But that doesn’t mean you can’t voice some concern or try some alternatives. She even leaves a bunch of helpful links to expand on the topic and for your own research.

Fitnessista’s YouTube Channel

I’ve been reading The Fitnessista’s blog for a few weeks now. She updates it A LOT! Luckily her posts are fast reads so that makes it okay. But I started to do some of the workouts from her YouTube page. Man, I am loving it. I am particularly loving her barre exercises. I love the muscle quakes from the exercises, but the healing process seems to be faster. I also love her body friendly instructing.

Posted by Jennifer in Sunday Reads Tags: bite size vegan, Cookie Monster, new york times, Sesame Street, sunday reading, sunday reads, The Fitnessista

Sunday Reading 11-09-14 #10

November 9, 2014

You might have noticed we were gone for two weeks, which means I have so much to share this weekend for Sunday Reading! I changed the format a little since there are so much to share, so bear with me guys. I hope I don’t overwhelm you with too many articles, videos, and blog posts. I tried to summarize faster for everyone as well.

I am also being pretty brief since I just got home from my trip to Florida. Most of my Mother’s side of the family lives there, so we went down for my grandparent’s 60th wedding anniversary! I will be sharing some photos, a restaurant, and a cool state park. I am just home to be back in crabby and dense Jersey.

I’ve been a huge fan of The Bite Size Vegan. I find Emily great for teaching people about veganism, whether it is about nutrition or how animals are treated. She covers so much and has the cutest puppy ever. That was why when she started the Nugget Army to help support her YouTube channel, I was happy to contribute. Go check her out, and see what you think.

Check out this cool lady who decorated her house with bottle caps.

Jamie recently posted a review on a manga called In Clothes Called Fat. I love comics, and I love how in Japan they are used as a serious medium for a message. I need to pick up this comic.

The Kitchn had a quick article about galactagogue foods, foods that increase breast milk. I thought it was cool because all the foods listed are vegan. Not saying all vegan food are galactagogue foods, but still interesting meat isn’t on there.

Logical Harmony make a quick cheat sheet of vegan friendly brands at Sephora. She even breaks down how vegan friendly they are!

Heard about Advanced Fashion yet? Well, get an introduction with this interview with the very inspiring Tziporah Salamon. Even if you aren’t a fashionista, she really inspires you to keep faith in art, and doing what you like regardless of age.

Jenny at She Loves Dresses wrote a loving letter to her late father. This is one of many posts where she opens up with her struggles in life. Something not enough people are open about.

(Another) Jennifer at Grimmricksen posted an interesting article about adult female ADHD.

The New York Times wrote a humbling piece about how complicated microbiome in our bodies is. We all know that Jamie Lee Curtis is trying to sell us poop-gurt, and all the hipsters are guzzling kombucha, but there is so much we don’t understand.

M.F.K Fisher is well known for her literature about food. Her writing is inspiration for pretty much every food blog, magazine, or book you pick up. But there is a good argument against M.F.K Fisher.

While on vacation my husband was looking at my tablet and wanted to make this Spicy Cranberry Apple Sauce.

Speaking of my husband- I really enjoyed Gena’s post on How to Date a Vegan Without Even Trying. It reminded me so much of my husband. I think he only asked two “annoying questions” about me being vegan which was “So you’ll never eat a hotdog again?” and “So you’ll never eat ice cream again?!” Aside from those two very spaced out questions, he never asked something stupid like “Is semen vegan?”

Since I talked about vegans and calcium, you might want to read this post about calcium.

Jess calls out the problem with Plus Size Models. It is a great step forward, but is a small step backwards.

Cara wrote a quick and helpful post about surviving the holiday season. I am planning on posting my own similar post

Crash Course & Self-Love Part 1

I was hesitant to share this Crash Course video on Eating Disorders. But after reading Raechel’s blog post about Self-Love it made me remember how crappy education was for eating disorders. Was I the only one who watched that TV special with Calista Flockheart? All the lessons about about eating disorders seemed to be targeted to the girls, and it came off as a wag of the finger. “Now don’t go crazy with your dieting girls!”

I think if I was shown this video in school my point of view would of been totally different. I think there is so much shame associated with bulimia and anorexia since it is often viewed at dieting gone wrong. I’ve had a friend who was anorexic, and pressures to look a certain way seemed to be on the bottom of the list. It was much more about control over something in her life. She talked about how she had to compulsively look at a watch and take bites when the hands were on certain numbers. Although she might of started to eat this way because she wanted to look thinner, she never talked about that being a concern about what and when she ate.

I also enjoyed the video because they switched genders around all the time with different disorders. They also mentioned many different disorders, saying that their root is similar- different environmental pressures.

Posted by Jennifer in Sunday Reads Tags: art, bite size vegan, crash course, in clothes called fat, manga, rebel grrrl living, sunday reading

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