Tag Archives: vegnews

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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!


This week has kept me unexpectedly busy. I guess I am still trying to get into a certain groove with the new house. I remember it taking awhile for me to get use to the old apartment and find things “natural” to do. I’ve also fallen off my workout routine. My foot was a little tender and I though “I’m running too much, I’ll just take it easy before the move.” Then I found I had no time to work out, anyways. Then while moving a dropped a very heavy duty poster roll on my foot and bruised it pretty badly. But I pretty much moved boxes up and down two flights of stairs the next day, and continued moving things and painting, and I even walked 2-3 miles in the city with a very soar foot. It probably would of been fine by now it I took care of it originally. So because of my foot and moving I haven’t worked out in THREE WEEKS! I did a light workout today and man did it suck. I took lots of breaks but I think I feel better overall.

I am now feeling pretty pooped. I went to a cousin’s first birthday party and it was outside. There was a nice pavilion to provide shade and it wasn’t too humid. But I think the heat was getting to me, and I am now ready for a nap. I hope everyone like the reading material this week.

Farm Round Up:

What I got:
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 quart sungold tomatoes
1 quart tomatillos
1 pint blackberries
1 quart green beans
2 heads garlic
1/2 bag swiss chard
3 asian eggplants
5 small tomatoes
18 small beets
2 bell peppers
1 small yellow squash
3 jalapenos
1 small cucumber
2 small onions
1 lb carrots
1 bunch of green onions

What I’m cooking:
Cherry Tomato Cobbler
Black Bean Tempeh and Squash Stir-fry
Spicy Dragon Noodle Salad
Roasted Beets as Lunch Side
Black Bean and Salsa Verde Tacos
Swiss Chard and white beans in a tahini dressing
Tofu Mapo from Vegan Eats World

Reading for the Week:

This kick-ass women is going to be the first female assistant coach in the NFL. Other cool stuff about her? She is the first women with a non-kicking position to play in the Indoor Football League.

Guys, I know that it is sad that Cecil the Lion died, but I have to agree with this article, it is time to stop harassing Walter Palmer. Yeah, he did a horrible thing, but he isn’t only guy who has killed a living thing in a dishonorable way. This should bring everyone attention to a terrible hobby that still exists today. There are better ways to use your rage, like signing a petition making it illegal to transport “trophies” on major airlines. Walter Palmer is a dick, but there are lots of other assholes killing innocent animals.

Apparently there is a pizza chain that will be offering daiya cheese! Sadly all the pizza places that offered daiya we moved further away from (Blackbird Pizzeria and Bricco) so I was excited to see that Mod Pizza will be opening a location 10 minutes away from our house!

These waffle photos make me think of dutch still life oils. o___o Can I buy a print?

This art installation is super cray! I would love to see this in person.

Videos of the week:


I am not sure why I found this video so interesting. Maybe it is because most artists know that blue is the hardest color to dye, which is pretty much the reason why you don’t see it often in ancient paintings or clothing. It is also interesting to read about how reptiles and amphibians gets that green color.


I am going to make a very controversial statement on the health food blogging sphere- I don’t think non-organic food and GMOs make us sick. There I said it! But I think what is being said in this is less about whether organic is better than conventionally grown food, and more about the ideas of “clean” and “dirty” foods. I think it is a great thing to be aware of because it can be really damaging psychologically. I also like to point out that some people were saying “isn’t organic food dirtier?” which is kind-of true. But I think people still lean towards the beautiful pristine specimens in supermarkets. There is a huge difference between the organic carrots I buy in the supermarket (just peel and go!) compared to the carrots from my CSA (wash, peel under running water, rinse again, and go- oh wait shit there is still dirt on them, damn it!). This is why I think the organic movement is so much stronger than the local movement.


Going with this theme of organic and GMOs aren’t bad for your health, I share this video from SciShow. I am glad that they address, what I think, is the big issues of GMO farming. Cross contamination, lawsuits, big corporations, environmental impact. Although I don’t like how Hank Green pulls the “BUT WE HAVE BEEN MANIPULATING PLANTS FOREVER!” argument, really very different from selective breeding and DNA guns. I still avoid GMOs, but it is more for ethics than health.


And last is a pick from both Alexa and I. When I tell people I had friends who dumpster dived they always think it is gross, but it kind-of wasn’t. They were pretty much just picking out crackers and such that were individually wrapped from the back of super markets. Sure they did it because it was cheap (but I think technically illegal) but also because many were aware of how much food is wasted in America. I know I am pretty good about eating and buying what I need. Rarely do I throw out old food. But even still, a lot of food gets wasted in grocery stores or on farms.