Living Without Meat

I am always in search of new, creative ways to lead a greener life. It sits well with me to know that I am reducing my carbon footprint by not eating red meat, and - as you probably could have guessed - I am the kind of person who takes my own bag to the store with me.

But I want to to save and reuse and reduce and be green in every thing I do every day. Okay, maybe I don’t want to be Ed Begley, Jr. green, but I certainly envy his knowledge of how to leave as little detrimental impact as possible on this planet.

With that said, 451 Press (who runs this lovely site for me), gave me control of adding pieces of flair to the lower right-hand side of the page. Around the same time, I discovered National Geographic’s awesome new magazine and Web site The Green Guide.

So if you look over to the right, and then scroll down a little, you will find weekly Green Guidance from The Green Guide. Enjoy!

In keeping with yesterday’s artistic theme, I insist you check out independent jewelry designer Karin Collins.

Karin’s beautiful, extremely unique creations are the epitome of recycled materials … and of gorgeous jewelry! Her designs, SpoonFed Art, turn the bowl part of regular kitchen spoons into canvases that capture and amaze as they adorn your neck. Some have a classic, elongated dinner spoon shape, others have a rounder, soup spoon feel, but they all feature mystical artwork that I would be honored to wear.

In addition to using real spoons, Karin incorporates and reuses bits and pieces of this and that including discarded jewelry and watches, broken guitar strings and picks, buttons, beads, pins, needles, broken glass and mirrors, and scraps of metals.

Says Kira Bloom of SpoonFed Art: “She’s recycling old materials one spoonful at a time!”

Another reason I love the company is the story behind it: Karin was working in business and finance, and battling with an eating disorder. Her artwork was her therapy; thus, her profits now help support the National Eating Disorder Association (this kind of therapy is actually what I went to graduate school for!).

Since it is one-of-a-kind, handmade, quality jewelry, expect to pay around $85 to $95 per necklace. However, if you order before the end of September, you can get free shipping … and it’s shipped in real popcorn!

Don’t worry about being wasteful and unfriendly to the earth with foam peanuts, just toss the popcorn to the birds, throw on your SpoonFed Art, and have a guilt-free fashionable day!

The last aspect of my life to go completely vegan is definitely my knitting. Wool is the only fiber that felts (the fibers mesh when you wash unwashable wool thus eliminating the need for a lining), and is perfect for the purses that I love to make. Not to mention, if you have never touched an alpaca or its wool … heaven!

I may have found a solution that soothes my ethical qualms: I ordered massive amounts of wool yarn from a local farmer who is personally going out to shear the sheep that he loves and cares for, then spin and dye it, and ship it off to me so I can knit guilt-free.

Wynnorr Farm, who sells local, fresh produce at a roadside stand in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, also has sheep! You can order 2-ply, 3-ply, bulky, or sport weights in a number of different fantastic colors - some of which are shown here in this picture.

Now I have a package on its way to me with my awesome purchase; I can hardly wait! I highly recommended finding your own local farmer to support!

And to heed off the questions that I already see brewing in your mind … I will detail later why I do not want to use the wool yarn from the store, because it is for more reasons that just to support local business over mass production.

In blog world, when writers with similar interests get together to write on a stated topic and collect all of their posted articles on one host site, it’s called a Blog Carnival.

As with anything that has a deadline, I usually miss entering a post for Veggie Chic’s Vegetarian Carnival. However, this month I made it in time! I submitted Mom’s gazpacho recipe and it’s posted along with several other great vegetarian and animal rights articles at none other than our friend Activist Mommy, who was the host this month.

Check it out, you’ll find some great info!

I have been having a love affair, and I think it only right that I share it with you. Odwalla makes the most amazing, delicious, protein-packed (each bottle has 18 grams!) beverages, and I just cannot get enough.

I first discovered the brand a few years back when the kids that I was watching at the time were allowed to buy the Blueberry Monster Smoothie as a special treat from Essene Market and Cafe - the local health food store.

But now that I am all grown up (and make my own really all-natural juices and smoothies), I have been drawn towards their soy blended drinks instead. Although they aren’t amazing on their own, the Super Protein drinks concocted of blends such as banana, almond, vanilla, and soy, are a great addition to iced coffee, fruit smoothies, cereal, baking, and more.

Now I don’t feel guilty about my morning (and afternoon, and later afternoon) cup of coffee because it’s filled with protein, essential amino acids, and plenty of vitamins and nutrients!

As of late, my mother is a gazpacho addict (in addition, of course, to her normal daily frappacino). If you have never had a nice, cold bowl of fresh gazpacho, I highly recommend trying some before the warm weather goes away for good and takes with it the delicious, ripe tomatoes. Mom sent in this recipe for all of us to try.

Mom’s Gazpacho

To make your own gazpacho, you will need a bit of equipment: food processor or blender, strainer, and rubber spatula.

Ingredients:

About 4 medium garden fresh tomatoes (core cut out and chopped in large chunks)

1/4 of a Vidalia onion (chopped)
Half of a red, orange, or yellow pepper (chopped)
Half of a cucumber (peeled, cut in large chunks)
3 or 4 fresh Basil leaves (chopped)

1. Put tomatoes in processor with large blade. Process until smooth. You may need to do this in two batches.

2. Pour pureed tomatoes into strainer over a bowl (this is important…the mom poured half a cup down the sink!) Use the spatula to push tomatoes through. Discard skins and seeds, or find another recipe to use them in!

3. Put remaining ingredients in processor. Process until desired texture. Mom and dad like some chunkiness.

4. Stir all together and chill.

5. Now for individual tastes. Dad adds salsa, but mom just adds a sprinkle of salt. Others might like a dollop of sour cream or yogurt on top.

This is a very refreshing meal on a hot day! Serve it just like soup - with crackers or warm bread.

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I found an interesting, very informative, new-to-me non-profit. Vegan Action(VA) has been around for 10 years, working to promote veganism for the animals, for the environment, and for our health. The Richmond, Virginia-based organization (get it? VA is in VA) has an eye-pleasing site that is one of the easiest to get around that I have come across. On it, you will find general vegan info, lifestyle help, recipes, links, answers to frequent questions and concerns, information on their four main campaigns (which I plan on looking into more and getting back to you), a free starter kit, a store, and more! Check them out next time you have a few extra minutes to peruse the Internet!

Today as I opened up my e-mail, I scrolled down through the usuals - PETA’s daily newsletter, COK’s weekly, more than a few “Recipes of the Day”, and plenty of inappropriate spam.

One, however, caught my eye and had me laughing out loud. American Eagle Outfitters is advertising their new rugby polo shirts. How, you may ask, do you promote something as original (insert sarcastic tone) as a teen-targeting polo top?

“Eagle Rugbys. Not made with real eagle.”

Nice one, AE! (I wear a medium). Way to be vegan in your advertising. Now if only they would go back to having a vast array of quality, non-animal fiber sweaters like they used to …

This morning I am working on a cryptograms book at work. This is especially fun for me because I get to search for riddles, quotes, poems, song lyrics, and do some of my own writing to be encoded later.

Here is an interesting, thought-provoking poem that I just ran across. Unfortunately it is too long to fit the bill of my book, but I can share it with you!

Kindness to Animals

author unknown

Little children, never give
Pain to things that feel and live;
Let the gentle robin come
For the crumbs you save at home;
As his meat you throw along
He’ll repay you with a song.
Never hurt the timid hare
Peeping from her green grass lair,
Let her come and sport and play
On the lawn at close of day.
The little lark goes soaring high
To the bright windows of the sky,
Singing as if t’were always spring,
And fluttering on an untired wing, -
Oh! Let him sing his happy song,
Nor do these gentle creatures wrong.

Enjoy your day, and try to have a childlike outlook towards animals and life!

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Are you raising a vegetarian or vegan baby, child, teenager, or family? If so, I found a great resource for you!

Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG), a non-profit based in Baltimore, MD that works to educate the public on all things vegetarian, has a number of great books, articles, recipes, and more for veggie families on its Raising a Vegetarian Family page. One particularly unique offering is their Yahoo! group - vrgparents - where you can talk with other parents raising veggie kids, receive e-mails, and share advice.

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Handbag designer Hogan’s latest line just created a target on their forehead.

The new Hogan bags were a rocker chick-inspired, guitar-ish, all-leather collection. Pairing punk-rocker icons with animal skins was suicidal enough with veg*ns and activists like Pink and Joan Jett ruling the realm, but Hogan decided to go all in.

Among this animal hide line of totes, Hogan created one called “The Chrissie,” (shown here) made of ponyskin and named for Chrissie Hynde, lead singer of The Pretenders. This is the same Hynde who is an enthusiastic animal rights activist, working with PETA and other organizations to stage protests and fundraisers. She has been briefly detained for stirring things up outside of KFC. She even - this would have been a key point to take note of, Hogan - trashed a Gap display for the “Everybody in Leather” campaign.

Hynde, who first thought it might be a joke since it was so ridiculous, is suing the designer. I can’t wait to hear their defense.

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