Tag Archives: the atlantic

Sunday Reading 10-02-15 #75

October 2, 2016

It’s officially October! I already busted out my Halloween gear and thinking about where to hang all my vintage paper decorations. I cleaned my witch glasses, so I might think of an alcohol free cocktail that is a little spooky to serve with them. I’ve been thinking, but falling a little short. Hard decisions. This year we got invited to a Halloween party, so I might even get dressed up. We’ve even already watched one horror film, so I will probably do my film reviews for the month again. I hope people like them because I at least enjoy making them. XD

Aside from Halloween I’ve been brainstorming some ideas for posts for Vegan Mofo 2016. I am hoping to post each day of the month, though I will obviously not keep to each prompt. Especially with the pregnancy. And I will be crossing my fingers there will be no early delivery that would cut my blogging short. If any readers have already signed up leave a comment! I will make sure I add you to my feedly log so we can all interact.

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Seitan is My Motor: Santana Apple Cake

I saw this recipe and thought it might be a good thing to make. Our local orchard is starting to get some good produce in (AMAZING Asian peas BTW) after a horrible season. I asked my husband if he wanted to make this… and he gave a very weird “uh… I don’t know.” Usually he get pretty excited about recipes with apples. Maybe it is because it isn’t a pie. *rolls eyes* But I thought she had a cool technique with cutting the apples to make them look pretty.

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The Tonka Bean: An Ingredient So Good It Has to Be Illegal

And the cake recipe made me interested in trying to find information on one of the ingredients- the tonka bean. This article was really interesting since it explains why it is illegal in the United States, and REALLY makes me want to try it. Apparently according to the article, there are some blackmarkets that sell the bean, so maybe I can get lucky trying to find a source but probably better not the break the law. XD

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Food By Mars: Pumpkin Spice Turmeric Latte

I love lattes, or rather warm milk based drinks. I have a bunch on the blog and I am always interested in making new ones. Heck I will hopefully have a new one posted this week even! So I might give this guy a try when I roast another pumpkin. I think the turmeric can help balance out the sweetness that most people get from Pumpkin Spice Syrups.

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Tooth Be Told: Do Natural Toothpastes Keep Your Breath Fresh?

There are lots of vegan toothpastes on the market, but many are very er… hippie dippie. I have been SLOWLY trying to move our toiletries to all vegan, but my husband is a loyalist to certain brands. He loves his soap that sucks out all the moisture in his body, mouth numbing toothpastes, and gelled shaving creams. But some of the brands that he liked made it on this list. No, this isn’t a list of vegan toothpastes- just natural ones.
Vegan Brands in Review: Desert Essence Natural Toothpaste, Earthpaste, Jason NutriSmile Toothpaste, Nature’s Gate Natural Toothpaste, The Honest Co. Toothpaste, Kiss My Face Gel Toothpaste
Unknown for Animal Testing: Himalaya Neem and Pomegranate Toothpaste, Spry Toothpaste, Weleda Natural Salt Toothpaste

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Keepin It Kind: Not About Food- A Real Character

Kristi from Keeping It Kind wrote a post recently about her issues with trying to come up with her three fictional character that characterize her. I had a similar experience where I had hard time picking out the third character then regretting it almost immediately. I ended up thinking about it, and the third character still represents me, but I only to a certain degree. So who did I pick? Susan from Bringing Up Baby. She has a great sense of fashion, a love of animals, and doesn’t take much very seriously. I also love how direct she was with men, which I think I was fairly direct with boys in high school.

I then picked Daria because I think she was my idol in high school. I wore boots with a pleated skirt and a quirky t-shirt almost every single day. I kept my hair largely un-styled. I also had the same attitude of making jokes, even if the people I knew didn’t get them. I think I still would have that attitude, but it seems that I am surrounded by more educated people. Maybe? I do think I am a little less cynical now than I was in high school though.

My third person was originally Elaine Bennett from Seinfeld because I think deep down inside I have a lot of similar qualities as her. Mostly the I’m secretly a terrible person part. XD I have a few issues with how Seinfeld presents Elaine (the cool girl who is a guy’s type of girl- essentially not REALLY a woman) but ignoring that, she is such a fabulous character. And at the time it was very different representation of females.

But I then I then remembered I am totally Linda Belcher from Bob’s Burgers. My husband always jokes how I am really Linda. I sing made up songs, I love a good drink, I’m loud, tacky, and secretly I think I am the cool mom (or will be.) Is it a little odd that I picked all character that are brunettes? And three of them wear glasses (or occasionally in Elaine’s case)? I think all are pretty educated (except Linda) but are constantly making an ass of themselves. Yup, sounds like me.

Posted by Jennifer in Sunday Reads Tags: apartment therapy, apples, bob's burgers, bringing up baby, daria, elaine, food by mars, Keepin It Kind, latte, linda, pumpkin spice, seinfeld, seitan is my motor, sunday reading, sunday reads, susan, the atlantic, Tonka Bean

5 comments

Sunday Reading 06-21-15 #66

June 21, 2016

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Yes, I know this isn’t Sunday, it’s Tuesday. But most of these articles were about pregnancy which might of seemed fishy if I posted it before my formal announcement. If you missed it- I am 15 weeks pregnant and just hit my 2nd trimester. It is also the reason why I have been blogging much. But my energy levels are back, and I have the time as well, so it all works out.

Last Sunday Reading I mentioned that I’ve been busy but couldn’t actually think of anything I was busy with. Looking back that is a BIG LIE! We have been very busy. Here is just a list of the many many things I’ve been busy with the past month or so

My friend Justine lived with us for about 2 weeks since she started a new job in Philly (she has happily found an apartment to stay in though)
A big summer thunder storm went by and ripped off our storm door so I had to take it down
My nieces had their first ever ballet recital which is a big deal for dancers
Hubs and I painted our bed rooms (colors are featured in my belly shots if you are wondering)
Went into Philly to visit my friend Chrissy to eat at Grindcore House for 3 hours!
Been busy brainstorming with my Mom about sewing quilts and clothing for my new tummy
Planning on redoing our third floor office/workout room to make room for a nursery. I might share details on the blog (mostly info on how to make a cheap desk)
Our CSA started up at the end of May so now every Saturday morning is occupied by picking our food share. Maybe I’ll start up a weekly food plans from it?
We got our first super adult purchase- A NEW FRIDGE!!! Actually Jon cared more about the specs but I have been enjoying the extra space. And we already spilled a bag of curry leaves in the freezer to make it very very dirty

With that being all shared and updated of my busy adult-life, on with links that almost exclusively involve stuff about babies and pregnancy. I think they are important to share even if you aren’t thinking about kids, as they are important social issues.

Why Women, and Doctors, Are Turning Away From The Bubble-Wrap Approach to Pregnancy

I think most people know that you aren’t suppose to drink when pregnant. But depending where you live, seeing a pregnant woman drink a glass of wine might seem not so odd, or it might send irks down your spine. I have mixed feelings. The research shows having a glass once in a while probably won’t do anything to the baby’s development, but most doctors (especially in the USA) will say to just avoid the stuff to be safe. Which might make sense, but pregnant women take socially okay risks all the time. Maybe scooping the cat litter while the husband is gone for a weekend, eating raw vegetables, or even driving the car (there is always the risk of getting hit by another car.) Pregnant women should weight the benefits with the risks, we need to get places so yeah, we will be driving a car. But what about booze? Some women end up binge drinking in the last trimester, which to me is a sign of stress. So wouldn’t it be best to balance it out and have a few drinks to take the edge off rather than binge drink which clearly shows to effect the fetus? But even still, the idea of me drinking a beer while pregnant still rubs me the wrong way. It is so embedded in our culture that I feel weird doing it. Or worse, I would be more afraid of what other people would think of it.

1 in 5 pregnancies end in miscarriage. Why?

I wanted to first tell everyone on the blog when I got pregnant. I didn’t care about the idea of miscarriages. I figured I would be honest if it happened, even if it took a few weeks to be able to emotionally write something. They happen fairly often, though most people wouldn’t know that. I had a girl from my high school wrote about having a still born and the emotional toll. For anyone who doesn’t know the difference is that a miscarriage is defined as the termination of a fetus before week 16-28 (depending on state laws), anytime afterwards would be a still born. The article talks about how little we actually know about them, which can be very frustrating to the women who have repeated miscarriages.
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Why Whole Wheat Is Better Than White

This is a very horrible name for an article (stupid age of click bait titles!) as it never REALLY explains what makes whole wheat healthier than white. But it talks about a very interesting thing- the many different ways that wheat’s glycemic index varies. It kind-of blew my mind, and made me wonder if I just swallowed pasta whole if that would make the glycemic index even lower (which is probably a very very bad idea XD)

The weird history of vitamin D — and what it actually has to do with sun

Super interesting article about vitamin D and the history of it. What I love about learning about the history of vitamins, you learn about all the different foods that get fortified with vitamins that we kind-of assume are natural. Like I never knew that milk is fortified with vitamin D, I just kind-of assumed when I was younger it was just made that way.

The “parenting happiness gap” is real, new research confirms

Another interesting article about kids, parents, and social issues. There is the “parenting happiness gap” where people who don’t have kids are happier than parents. Some countries have this issue and others don’t. Apparently there is clear cut and easy data that shows that the gap can be explained by how much government and work support parents have. I am fairly certain many of the issues about reproductive rights with women revolve around the fear that women wouldn’t want to have children because well, there isn’t much help. No paid leave. Bad vacation time. And lots more. I joke with friends that there is no logical reason to have children since there are so many disadvantages when it comes to money.

Posted by Jennifer in Sunday Reads Tags: pregnancy, quartz, slate, sunday reading, sunday reads, the atlantic, washington post

4 comments

Sunday Reading 05-01-15 #63

May 1, 2016

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Hi everyone! Sorry I’ve been a bit of a bum lately. I have been pretty busy… sort of. It is mostly a case of I haven’t had much a chance to be on the computer, and when I did, I wouldn’t be in the mood. I am much more interested in snuggling with a blanket on the couch, which has really given me lots of reading time. If I had a laptop, I probably would be blogging just as much as I did before. But until the day someone just hands me their laptop, I will be using the one I have in my office.

I’ve fallen behind with my links for reading, so some of these article might seem pretty old, so sorry guys! XD I am rarely on top of these things lol. Well hopefully I will be writing more again this week and will get back into the swing of things.

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Members of the U.S Women’s National Team File Federal Equal Pay Complaint

It is about time this happens. I really enjoyed the recent women’s world cup, but I was also a little sad hearing about how little these women were being paid. When complaining, someone replied with “well these girls won’t have to worry anymore with all their endorsement deals” like that solves the root of the problem. My biggest regret is not being able to support the Women’s Soccer League more since there aren’t any teams nearby.

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What I Learned From Tickling Apes

I have been finding a lot of article lately about animals and how science treat their emotions. I get why scientists are so hesitant to say if animals feel pain, have emotions, and have similar problem solving skills to humans, but it seems equally naive that they wouldn’t have any.

Consumer Reports in the Age of the Amazon Review

I first was introduced to Consumer Reports by my Father in Law. He suscribed to the magazine, and I liked their rating system. They didn’t just go with the “best” they also took in practical things like money into consideration. In fact, a lot of the time the Walmart brand foods often would be ranked the best for the price (for things like ketchup.) I now rarely pick it up since the subscription is a hefty chunk. Instead I learned to use online product reviews, whether it be Amazon, Modcloth, or Target. This article brings up some great points like online reviewers are only reviewing one item. For example the person probably bought one TV, not 12 different ones to compare to each other. And they point out something I wasn’t aware of, which make sense, people being given free products to review on Amazon. The person still can say they live the product, but overall are less likely to take price into consideration.

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Do Insects Have a Consciousness Ego?

Bugs get the short end of vegan stick. I sometimes have a hard time getting the warm and fuzzies for a fly. But it seems science is slowly starting to defend bugs as conscious creatures that deserve a little more respect. Although the article isn’t claiming much, it is an interesting step in the field to assume bugs are running on a little more than 100% automated instinct.

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How the Media Got a Study About Vegetarianism Really, Really Wrong

Another case of bad journalism snowballing out of control. Apparently articles about how adopting a vegetarian diet put you at risk for heart disease and colon cancer. It’s udder crap. How much crap is it? Well apparently the authors of the study had to release a statement saying that wasn’t what they found in their study. To put it simply, the scientists found that societies who had adopted a vegetarian or near vegetarian diet developed a way to produce their own omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. If they then adopt a meat eating diet, their bodies will be flooded with too many fats, and will have health issues. Most writer confused hundreds of years of a vegetarian diet with a few years within ones lifetime. Nor does producing your own omega-3 and omega-6 make you sick, if you stick to a vegetarian diet.

Posted by Jennifer in Sunday Reads Tags: amazon, consumer reports, motherboard, new york times, npr, opinion, smithsonian magazine, soccer, sunday reading, sunday reads, the atlantic, women's soccer, women's sports

5 comments

Sunday Reading 04-03-15 #62

April 3, 2016

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Hey guys. This week I am all thrown off. Last weekend I went to Ocean City with my husband since we got invited to a friends beach house. We went on Monday and came back Tuesday, for a little mini vacation. Then we went into Brooklyn to visit my sister on Friday night and came home late Saturday night. I have a bunch of cool posts to do about Brooklyn, a little tour guide of things to do in Williamsburg/Bushwick if you will. I went to Ocean City during the off season… so I really don’t have many good vegan tips of places to go there. I don’t know guys, the Jersey Shore isn’t my thing. Maybe I will make a travel guide about the beaches near Fair Haven where I grew up (and where Alexa is now).

It is really windy here. Some of the smaller trees have been uprooted, and the power went out while shopping! It was very weird going shopping at Target and Wegman’s with only the emergency lights on. There were also weird little things that weren’t working. Espresso machines were down, the conveyer belts at the registers weren’t working. And I feel like everyone was in a panic because of the power being out, at least I felt a little bit like there was something severely bad going on. Oddly my power is doing just fine so I can make this post of the top reads for your Sunday.

Jazz singer Nina Simone is shown in London on Dec. 5, 1968, photo. Simone’s deep, raspy, forceful voice made her a unique figure in jazz and later helped define the civil rights movement. (AP Photo)

Nina Simone’s Face

I might be a little late in the game with posting this article, but it is still something good to read. Ta-Nehisi Coates writes a great article about why we should care about the casting choice for Nina Simone. Many people who read about social justice is probably aware of the issue already, but Coates write beautifully and I think explains the situation that is understandable to anyone new the topic.

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Fitness Trackers Reveal the Damaging Pitfalls of the Modern Approach to Self Improvemnt

As someone who loves to track their health stats, I found this article interesting. I use MapMyRun, Ovia, and have downloaded a pedometer app in the past. Then I like to combine them all together in my Apple Health app because I love graphs. But the article points out that you can’t keep topping yourself, and that might drive some people nuts. I don’t want to say FitBit and other fitness trackers are pointless, but we need to be careful about how to we sell them.

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Excessively Candid FoodNetwork.com Recipe Reviews

Am I outing myself as a New Yorker fan? You betcha I am. I found these hilarious, and plausibly real.

Controversial Post: Who Can Clap for That Wrap?

Emileigh from Flashback Summer has really been crushing it lately. Some of you may not know, but I love vintage clothing. I’ve largely stopped blogging about fashion mostly since I haven’t been spending much on new clothes. But I’ve showcased some vintage articles of clothing on the blog (both dresses, vintage hat, and dress). As many may know, vintage clothing has a lot of styles that might be called out today for cultural appropriation- the squaw dress, the tiki bar craze, blackamoor jewelry, and now Emileigh breaks down whether or not is culturally appropriate to wear a wrap. I like how she quotes various people with different ethnicities and background and does some historical research, and urges that if you aren’t doing the research yourself, don’t wear it.

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Arsenic & Old Lace

I rarely make cocktails from Gastronomista, mostly because I am cheap and have a poorly stocked liquor collection. But the photos of the Arsenic & Old Lace is amazing. Naturally I don’t have any of those liquors- and finding creme de violette might be hard but I will keep it in the back of my mind when looking around.

Posted by Jennifer in Sunday Reads Tags: cocktails, cultural appropriation, flashback summer, gastronomista, nina simone, quartz, sunday reading, sunday reads, ta-nehisi coates, the atlantic, the new yorker, vintage

4 comments

Sunday Reading 02-07-15 #58

February 8, 2016

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Hey guys. Anyone watched and enjoyed the Super Bowl? I enjoyed the game and surprisingly enjoyed the halftime show (that’s is normally really weird, and Coldplay didn’t even have to play Yellow to please me). Oddly I do like Coldplay’s new single Adventure of a Lifetime but the video guys, I just can’t. Is it just me, but is Coldplay SOO positive and upbeat that it makes you go crazy? I personally like my music to be angsty and full of deep political messages… okay not all my music. I mean I do love me some Stupid Hoe. But I guess I am getting off topic.

So much has happened this week and I kind-of fell behind on various posts that I wanted to put up this week. Oh well. But I do have a few links to share this week. I hope everyone enjoys it.

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Judge John Hodgman Episode 245: Live at SF Sketchfest 2016

This is one of the funniest episodes of Judge John Jodgeman I’ve heard. It starts with a big bang with a case of a wife asking her husband to get his water collection methods under control. It is full of kombucha and fart jokes. What is there not to love?

Why Women In China Are Obsessed With This Workout Trend

This is kind-of just a fluff piece, but it is nice to see changing attitudes in fitness in Asia. I love Asian culture and you might notice most women are stick thin compared to some of the Western female counterparts. Getting shape in some Asian countries involve pretty much starving yourself. Nope, not sugar coating it either. So hearing that some women are opting to go to the gym and focus on strength is probably a good thing, even if most of these ladies are trying to loose weight in the end.

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How This Black Woman Made Room for Herself in The World of Comics

I’ve heard some things about this coffee shop in other news articles, but I find this really cool. There are so many things I am digging about this location, the diversity, females, and this cool new movement in Philadelphia of pairing a coffee shop with another store idea. There is this location and cinemug, that is a video rental and coffee shop. Maybe Alexa and I will stop here tomorrow?

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The End of the Calorie

I’ve listened to GastroPod before, and they provide awesome podcasts about science and food. This one tackles the topic of calories. It is fun to hear about what they are, and the pitfalls of calorie counting. Some information I knew about in the past, but others were fairly new to me. It is great listen for anyone who has struggled with dieting, or want some more scientific backup about why counting calories is a load of shit.

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My LA Food Diary

My sister emailed me this wonderful article about daily meal plan of the owner of Moon Juice. Oh boy was that article a load of shit. You know, the kind of crap that makes you remember why people don’t want to try my maca milkshake. The whole article is pretty much a promo for overpriced sprouted rice protein powder from the company, so there’s been a lot of articles bashing it. This one is clearly the best one.

Posted by Jennifer in Sunday Reads Tags: china, comic books, gastropod, judge john hodgeman, medium, Philadelphia, refinery29, sunday reading, sunday reads, the atlantic, working out

Sunday Reading 01-18-15 #57

January 24, 2016

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Hello everyone! I can report that Alexa and I doing very well and are safe from the big blizzard. We never lost any power, and personally didn’t have any flooding issues. The storm was really bad for the coastline in South Jersey, with flooding that is worse than Sandy. Hopefully the response will be faster than Sandy was. I haven’t ventured out of the house much yet, and I have a feeling the snow distribution will be weird. There are so many mini snow dunes in my development, and one car is covered in snow, while the other is pretty much untouched!

So I put together some articles I found interesting this week, and hopefully you can agree. I didn’t have a ton of articles so I am reverting to my old school way of formatting with pictures and all.

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Why I Went Vegan

There really isn’t anything earth shattering, especially for vegetarians, and vegans here. But I was really excited to read an article on a major non-vegan platform- The Kitchn. There is a series of articles being published as well, like “what do I buy now?” and “what do I eat?” sort of posts. Hopefully this gives a nice transitioning olive branch for people who are thinking about going vegan. Sometimes us vegans and write and write and write but if we keep networking with each other, there is a good chance we aren’t reaching as many non-vegans. So I find this exciting.

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Buffalo Bills Just Hired Their First Female Coach

I think I’ve linked an article before of how the cardinals hired the first ever female assistant coach, Jen Welters. She was only hired for an “internship” and isn’t working anymore. And now the Bills hired Kathryn Smith, and hopefully she will stay around longer than a summer. But even still I’ve been noticing more and more females in football advertisements outside of hot chicks and cheerleaders. There are more women in the Play 60 commercials, which is great. I know my one cousin really liked playing flag football, but surprise, her mother encouraged her to play more “female” centered sports. Football might not be the perfect sport, but I do see positions that women can excel in.

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Long Thought To Be Extinct, Bizarre Tree Frog Surfaces in India

This is really exciting news, a revival of an extinct species. This isn’t the first time, as I love the story about the kakapo (which is like a cute chubby fluffy dinosaur, in my opinion.) But what makes this story super interesting is that scientists think that they never noticed this frog because their tadpole phase could go on for years. This is another case of how we have to much to learn about animals in their natural habitat. Which brings me to the next article…

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Danes Say Zoo Dissections Fit With Country’s “Very Honest” Parenting

The Danish get a lot of criticism about their zoos, and I do feel a little bad. Zoos put animals to sleep all the time, they just aren’t coming out about it. I do think in someways it is good for the vegan movement. The public rarely sees an animal butchered, and therefore find it disgusting. But I think if you are going to eat meat, you have to stomach it otherwise you are a little hypocritical.I also take faith that kids do listen to their hearts, and even the reporter speculates that these dissections could spark interest with kids in animal activism. I think these dissections are examples of showing that zoos are not natural places for animals, and another example of humans creating new “animal” problems.

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Consoling Voles Hint at Animal Empathy

A new study shows that animals might be empathetic. Seems a little silly, but it is hard to determine different emotions objectively. So scientists construct really weird experiments to try and prove different emotions. Feel free to read, but this experiment does involve distressing and hurting voles.

Why Are Vegetarians Annoying? (An Exploration of a Cultural Rift)

Hank Green has done a few videos about vegetarianism, and I have to give some respect to him. Sadly the comments are full of the same ol’ same ol’ “how can you tell if a person is vegan” jokes. Basically Hank Green admits, he is a little selfish for eating meat, which I totally respect. Very rarely do people come out and say this. There are tons of excuses that give me a big roll of the eyes, bacon, its for my health, it isn’t natural, blah blah blah. And Green is right in saying that we need to draw a line sometimes in the things we do. I would go out of my mind if I questioned every single item I bought in order to live a guilt-free, cruelty-free, sweat-shop-free, lifestyle. I also look at this video as a way to try and live my life less judgmentally, even if everyone else is judging me (which seems likes like a pretty conceded statement, but man reading those comments, people do judge vegans.)

Posted by Jennifer in Sunday Reads Tags: nfl, npr, sunday reading, sunday reads, the atlantic, the kitchn, vlogbrothers, Vox, zoo, zoos

2 comments

Sunday Reading 11-29-15 #55

November 29, 2015

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Hi everyone! I decided to go back to the old set up for my Sunday Readings. At least for today since I don’t have too many different articles. I guess maybe it is because I have been more focused on Thanksgiving than news? Or maybe I’ve been trying to think about Christmas, which is hard coming up with stuff I want. Weird right? I guess maybe it is because I know there is a bunch of stuff I want that I can’t get (like a puppy) Anyways, I hope everyone likes these reads!

How Humans Saved Gourds

Apparently humans are the only reason why the gourd exists today. It is interesting to hear about the evolution of fruits and how they try to be eaten to spread their seeds. It is also nice to hear that humans saved something for once rather than killing them.

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Big in Israel: Vegan Soldiers

This is a quick little article about how Israel is handling the growing vegan community. It is a shame there is no programs like this for American soldiers but this article shows that society can adapt to the growing vegan demands. So saying it just isn’t how people do things is proving to be false.

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Your Gut Bacteria May Be Controlling Your Appetite

I love reading articles that further prove there is more to weight than diet and exercise. This one is talking about how what we crave might be controlled by the bacteria in our stomachs. This is probably a good theory since it might explain why people crave different foods once they change what their diet looks like.

Teachings Grown-ups How To Eat

I have a lot of beef with the “child obesity” debate. I know someone close with a child who they are trying make loose weight, which rubs me the wrong way. One of the major reasons is because they don’t change everyone’s diet, they just restrict their child’s. The article points out that we need to be more flexible about what we eat, and we are lucky, we are ominous, it is part of our nature to switch up what we eat.

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Highways Destroyed America’s Cities

This article made me think about when I lived in Philadelphia and how roads shaped where I would go with friends. I remember hating some walks to movie theaters because it meant walking under highways, and certain areas were pretty much dead zones because of the roads.

Posted by Jennifer in Sunday Reads Tags: agriculture, cities, Diet, driving, Eating, gourds, gut bacteria, highways, israel, soldiers, sunday reading, sunday reads, the atlantic, the new yorker, the smithsonian, vegan, veganism

3 comments

Sunday Reading 11-08-15 #54

November 15, 2015

Alexa hardly ever takes photos of Gizmo! Such a cutie!

Hey everyone! I hope everyone had a good week. I had a pretty productive one, and I even squeezed in a sick day! It is weird because it has been awhile since I’ve had a “sick” day. I had stomach bugs, but never stayed home with a flu. Even still, I just felt dizzy Friday and left work early mostly because I didn’t feel comfortable standing up for long periods of time. Got home, slept for 3 hours and when I work up I thought MAYBE I should take my temperature. Nothing huge, 99 degree temperature, but it was kind-of a “oh I guess I should came home then.” I am fine now, heck I was pretty much fine by the end of the night. But I think the experience has given me the motivation to get my flu shot this year. I can’t remember the last time I got one, so I am not really looking forward to it. XD

I am also trying to get use to working out again. I think it was much easier to be motivated in my old apartment, it was so small that going out for a run was a joy (also the area was beautiful, not too thrilled about my new run) Now I am going up and down stairs a lot more, more space to walk, I chase the cat, more personal space, and we can control the temperature so we are constantly snuggling under blankets. So I think is hard to find the motivation to lift weights when a cat is snuggling on my lap. Well, I want to really try and run 3 days a week, and weight train 2 days of the week. Maybe I’ll write a post about it once a week, I don’t know.

I am also in the process of planning my Thanksgiving dinner! I am pretty excited about this. It is almost all vegan, my in-laws are bringing their own turkey, which is fine to me because I know turkey can be a hard symbol to loose for the holiday. This is Jon’s first Thanksgiving without eating turkey, so it should be interesting. I will probably post a menu outline of what I plan on making for the dinner.

The Mayo Clinic did some research to what an energy drink does to your body. Answer, just releases stress hormones.

This article made me stop and rethink my day. It is one of those “yeah we all know this” sort of fact, busy people aren’t productive. I feel like I have been having a hard time getting things done, and maybe I am just bouncing too many different things around. I really want to focus on just reading, or just writing a blog post, or just looking at facebook. I find that when I focus, the clock ticks slower.

Since I am talking about trying to run more, I found this article about why writers run interesting.

Another article in defense of wild bees. Many people defend honey in a vegan diet because OMG ALL OUR BEES ARE DYING! And that is true, but a lot of the problems are manmade creations that we could fix, like planting more native flowers, having various blooms during the season, etc.

Anyone else use their apple news app? I do, and I love it. I like getting a wide variety of article, many I might not find on vegan media platforms. This one is what happens when an Italian goes paleo. I like the conclusion and the breakdown of all the science, and how the author didn’t gush about how she felt amazing. I think a lot of special diets are placebo effects, and if you do feel any real effect, it might take months, or years to have any change, and you might not notice since the change is so gradual.

My husband loves bears, and I love these sculpture projects where there is one blank form that is decorated various ways. This one is a bear in Germany that just made me smile.

Alexa shared this article with me about how our housing situation shapes our friendships. We both struggle with friends living far away, and I even hear how people in New York City struggle keeping in touch since with public transportation it can take several hours to get to certain spots. We also prize privacy, which and keep us closed off from the world. I think we both feel like the most “interaction” we felt with our community might of been when we lived in cities. What do you guys think?

Posted by Jennifer in Sunday Reads Tags: cute travels, npr, quartz, sunday reading, sunday reads, the atlantic, Vox

1 comment

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 08-16-15 #49

August 16, 2015

Got an old comforter from the basement, and Toulouse is quick to nap on it.

This week has been pretty busy. Lots of cooking and prepping, and I’ve been working longer hours at the frame shop. Then this weekend I thought I would catch up on posts, but I have a busy k.o. punch- my husband’s birthday. We aren’t the type of people to do lots of things for our birthdays. It is pretty simple, choose a dessert and choose a dinner whether it be eating out or a specific meal. Well, then my in-laws thought it was a good weekend to hand off a bunch of Jon’s stuff they’ve been keeping in their basement. It is helpful, but it feels like taking a step back in the moving process. So we have tons of new stuff to figure out what to do with, and I am not very sentimental so I am looking at half this stuff and thinking “my god this needs to be thrown out.” So this should be interesting to see what Jon doesn’t with half this stuff.

The good news for Alexa is that we have been collecting all the “doubles” of things so she might get some freebies when she moves out her house, like an iron, espresso machine, air conditioner, and maybe a pot or two. Oh and wrestling action figures. Jon apparently kept all his old 90s action figures.

Things at the farm are really going. I think this is the time of the year where I get my biggest bang for my buck. I think I remember last you figuring out that I pay something like $27 each week for my share at the farm. It has gone up since then. But the price of some this produce that’s organic is insane. Jeff, one of the farmers, said he had a friend who sold an organic heirloom tomato that was $15 because it was so big and heavy. Wow. I saw that regular tomatillos were $3 a pound, so that means those tomatillos would of cost me $12 in the supermarket alone! I can’t even begin to think how much I would be paying for all the tomatoes!

Farm Round Up:

What I got:
1 quart sungold tomatoes
1 pint blackberries
2 large cantaloups
1 spaghetti squash
1 lb red plums
1 lb MacIntosh apples
13 lb yellow peaches
oregano, basil, cilanto, mint
4 lbs tomatillos
5 lbs cherry tomatoes
1 quart ground cherries with husks
1 quart green beans
10.5 lbs slicing tomatoes
2 roma tomatoes
2 heads of lettuce
1 eggplant
1 yellow onion
1 bunch of radishes with greens
2 poblano peppers

What I’m cooking:
Tomato Sauce for future cooking
Tomatillo and Berry Crisp
Freezing peaches for storage
Yogurt, granola, and ground cherry/blackberry bowls
Grilled “Cheese” and Tomato Sandwiches
Side salads with sungold tomatoes and radishes
Jungle Curry with Seitan Curry
Sri Lankan Red Lentil Curry (using the roma tomatoes) from Vegan Eats World
Spaghetti Squash Yakisoba Style

Reading for the Week:

Apparently the old living cat is 26 years old?!

I am sure many of you have heard about the Animas river turning yellow. Wall Street Journal has more details.

I really want to read this comic, but it isn’t actually released yet!

I like this guide on how to order vegan at any restaurant. There is a really great break down of what to look for and what to ask. From my experience working in the food industry, if you are nice, the servers will be nice back. Also, keep in mind accendents happens. It might not be your waiters fault so don’t flip out on them.

Apparently there is a book written about why millennials so foodies. I liked this interview on The Atlantic, but I think there are some points missing. One is yes, millennials have less money, but I think that is why we spend money on food. It is a short term reward that might not cost a lot right now. And another point that I think is missing is that there is a lot of political statements being said about the food we eat, and in some ways a revolt against the system we are forced to get jobs in (aka big corp America)

And this one is for any tattoo junkies- a 2,500 tattooed Siberian princess is found. Still reading the article, but the tattoo design is amazing!

Posted by Jennifer in Sunday Reads Tags: animas river, comics, Good Ok Bad, Graphic Novel., it doesn't taste like chicken, new york times, Siberian times, sunday reading, sunday reads, the atlantic, wall street journal