Rest is good

It's been a while since I last posted and it will be a while until I post again! Rest is good.
If you are interested in the raw vegan lifestyle, please visit my other blog, For the Love of Raw, where I'll be concentrating all my time for the foreseeable future. Two jobs and two blogs are a lot to keep up with.
Thanks for reading!

Mother - In Theatres March 12th

Can't wait to see this!

Mother - In Theatres March 12th

SeaWorld Orlando: 1 dead at SeaWorld Orlando Shamu attraction - latimes.com

SeaWorld Orlando: 1 dead at SeaWorld Orlando Shamu attraction - latimes.com

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Vegan news in the area

For starters bargain-hunters, get your shop on, because Natural Goodness is closing after 15 years! This was my neighborhood health food store for YEARS! I'm so sad to see it leave. Where am I going to go for a fresh carrot juice in the middle of the afternoon for a pick-me-up now? Stock up on vitamins, toilet paper, teas essential oils while you can!

There's a new semi-vegan eatery in town. Maru Global serves Japanese street food. They offer quite a few vegan options, including soups and desserts. They have pizza, burritos and all kinds of good stuff. Haven't tried it out it, but take-out seems like a good option, especially when it starts getting warmer and you can take lunch to Washington Square West park!

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this organic, vegan, soy-free ice cream sweetened with agave from Coconut Bliss. I can't wait for summer when I'm craving ice cream and won't feel guilt free when eating this. Available at Whole Foods.

And vegans beware! I saw these amazing-looking and very tempting donuts in the frozen aisle at Whole Foods, but upon closer inspection I see that eggs are listed twice in the ingredients. It says dairy-free...I don't know about you, but I consider eggs a dairy product. Make sure you read labels!

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

People talking about Food

People come over my house all the time and say, "oh you guys should totally watch Food Inc." We haven't watched it yet, only because we've been researching this stuff for over a decade. I'm vegan because of factory farming, and while in a perfect world everyone would be vegan, I know a 'perfect' world is also a non-reality.

Thankfully, to people like first lady Michelle Obama and food researcher and author Michael Pollan, people are talking and more people are starting to listen.
Michael Pollan appeared on Democracy Now on Monday. Tuesday,  Michelle Obama talks to Larry King about childhood obesity. After listening to Pollan discuss Oprah's lawsuit with Big Beef, I was curious to see how deeply Michelle would delve into our food industry and she just barely grazed upon the subject matter. Larry seemed much more intent on finding out about life in the White House, instead of focusing on the issue. Probably no fault of either of them. Big Beef strongly discourages any flack on their industry, as we've seen in the Oprah case, which she has not broached since.

I'm happy to see food as a discussion in our society. After reading Barbara Kingsolver's book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle I have a new respect for this Slow Food Movement and I'm a supporter of bringing back extinct breeds of livestock, versus factory farming. If that is what it takes for people to eat healthy. I like the idea of America re-inventing itself based on tradition.

What this country needs is more discussions about food, and to invigorate the public to make better choices. Healthy living costs more. I spend a lot of money on food, but since it's my health and future I'm investing in, it's a no brainer. I stopped thinking that I need a new pair of shoes, or a new bag and instead, buy lots of fresh produce, super-foods and supplements. Talking about food is the first step, now we must ALL put it into action. However you eat healthier, it's up to you, but fresh food is key. Banish prepared foods, processed foods and sugar and you will have a healthier, more fulfilling life of purpose. Both Pollan and Michelle Obama stress the importance of the family meal. This couldn't be more important. Take a step towards eating healthier today. Your body will thank you.

animal cruelty, Louis XIV style

Here's a disturbing illustration of some archaic pig siren that used to make people like Marie Antoinette giggle like a school child. This got me riled up this morning but then I thought: we've come a long way. Long way to go, but at least we don't tie wires to pigs tails and make them scream for amusement

New York wants you to eat less salt

Mayor Bloomberg wants all New Yorkers to eat less salt, thereby asking the restaurant industry to lower their salt usage. Wanna know what I think? Eat at home more! Make food yourselves! You have all the control over your diet this way. Have to eat out 3 meals a day 7 days a week? Well, besides there being much wrong with this lifestyle you also have no control over what goes into your body. However, order green salads with olive oil and vinegar, no added salt. In all the restaurants I've worked in, which tally over a dozen, any chef is willing to make a low-sodium meal upon request. Pretty soon, New Yorkers will be hand-fed tablespoons of mysterious green goo, if Bloomberg gets his way.
Stand up for yourselves and eat responsibly.

Snow fall means snow boots

I've been avoiding buying snow boots for the entirety of my adult existence. With last weeks' huge storm dropping 23.2 inches in Philadelphia, it became painfully obvious that I need to purchase snow boots if I'm going to last the winter. After all it is only December! High top sneakers were just not cutting it, and wearing plastic baggies over my socks, although frugal, was just not fashionable.
The solution? Rubber Duck snow joggers.Can't afford $100 on snow boots? Check out their outlet section on the web site. Prices for last season's snow booots have been slashed in half. What a bargain. What else is so great about Rubber Duck? Cruelty free footwear for the snow bunny in all of us.

Give yourself warm cozy feet. They get enough abuse as it is.

Paula Dean & Ham in the Face

This video of Paula Dean getting hit in the face with a ham cannot be any funnier! I have nothing against Paula Dean, and love that she was able to laugh it off like a true professional.

Paula, maybe that ham was getting its revenge!

Vegan issues on NYT

I love this op-ed from NY Times. Finally someone who echoes my intent. Meat-eaters today are self-righteous, defensive gluttons with little remorse. I believe if you are going to eat meat, you should be able to kill and butcher it too, and I don't think many of my friends can do that. Eating out is a total drag these days and I do it only when I fee obligated, I simply cannot watch someone eat meat from a bone, smell it wafting over my plate as I lift a spoonful of veggies to my mouth or be around it in any capacity.
This piece hits the point home the fallacy of free-range. If you really care about the fate of animals on this planet than you wouldn't eat them. Period.

This author can count on one hand the number of vegan friends he has. It is a sad state of affairs when people are breaking their backs trying to get around their guilt, all so they can eat a piece of bloody flesh.

Adopt a turkey for the holidays! If your family doesn't thank you, well maybe they don't deserve it. But the turkeys thank you and that should be most important. Change it up a bit, buck tradition. This year, for Thanksgiving, my in-laws asked me to bring the vegan pot-pie I made last year, and it is so nice to be able to share healthy, delicious vegan meals that a whole family loves.

Over-fishing...is your sushi worth it?

lately I'm obsessed with over-fishing, and it seems that my sentitments are echoed around the world. Listen to the NPR story here.
There are healthy fish to eat: tilapia, sardines, herring to name few. Leave the big tuna to the big sea and eat what can easily reproduce. Simple as that.

That not all...think that cigarette you've stumped out on the beach will just...disappear? Not only is your health at risk, but fish too! read more here. Of course nicotine is toxic...just remember where you dump your butts.

I'm taking on this crusade. Protect our oceans!

I heart Tony Gonzales

It's really important for fellow football players to support PETA's initiatives. I love that Tony Gonzales is sticking it to Vick and other animal abusers by using his celebrity to bring attention to the atrocities of wearing fur. Go Tony! I'll root for you any day.

https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2575
While you are at it, sign the anti-fur petition, and you'll never wear fur again.

A Whale of a Truce? : Discovery News

A Whale of a Truce? : Discovery News

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So you're a pescatarian?

So you're a pescatarian... Do you ever consider the impact that your meat-free, yet fish-filled diet has on the planet? Terry Gross on Fresh Air has a great 2 part expose on the fishing industry, how it is killing our planet and the not-so-romantic image of the swarthy fisherman.

I stopped eating fish as soon as I left the nest. Too many early mornings visiting lobster traps with my father before school marred the romantic image of fishing. But at least it was one man (and a girl) against the sea. I spent too many days witnessing the brutal harpooning and watching fish flap themselves lifeless to ever really enjoy a seafood meal, and for that I'm thankful. I'm thankful also that I was forced to watch my dad kill my pet chickens and force me to pluck it, because little did he know that there was a young vegan in the making. I have so many friends who have said, "I only eat fish" And I say to them, "well pretty soon you'll start feeling guilt about the over-fishing problem and you'll stop eating fish too."
In this interview the facts are indisputable. Gone is the image of the swarthy fisherman with a crew of 2, trying to eek out a living. Instead we have floating factories with underpaid workers in less-than-desirable conditions fishing our oceans dry. 80% of the fish consumed in the US are from foreign countries. We use technology originally used in wartime to locate submarines to find schools of fish. Trawlers, huge nets that boats tow behind them, are sometimes large enough to accommodate 6 jumbo jets. This is factory farming people! We are literally ripping ecosystems directly out of the ocean. We are eating fish faster than they can reproduce and giving nice-sounding names to things that really sound inedible. Oh and the jellyfish. Jellyfish will soon run the world if we don't watch it.

If you are interested in the environment, overfishing, vegan issues or simply curious about what the science says, take a listen. Hey, it might just change what you eat.

Larry King grills the Burger industry

Last night on Larry King Live (LKL), the suspender-wearing journalist probed deep into the burger industry. Read the transcript here. Deaths from e-coli, especially in children, are on the rise and it's big beef's fault! Nearly everyone on the panel said that they don't eat burgers, with the exception of one woman who was obviously paid big bucks by big beef to extoll the virtues of an animal protein diet. In a nut shell, her argument went something like this: "It's so much easier to gulp down a burger than to actually think about eating sensibly"
Even Anthony Bourdain, self-professed carnivore, looks unfavorbaly on factory farming. I have a new-found love for Bourdain after a recent episode where he swore he would not take part in the slaughtering of animals for his tv show since he's been dating a vegetarian!

So what's the final word? Everyone, except for the paid-lobby lady, agrees that there needs to be a major overhaul in the meat industry in the US. that means more testing. 90% of our meat comes from factory farms, so if you think you are safe, read the label. Lucky for me, as a raw vegan, there are no worries, except for the run-off from factory farms infecting crops like spinach. Eat organic, know where your food comes from. If you must eat meat, raise a cow at a local farm, but please think twice about our beautiful cow-eyed friends before eating them!

Discovery News : Earth: It's The End of the World! It's an Alien Invasion! No, It's a Cloud.

Discovery News : Earth: It's The End of the World! It's an Alien Invasion! No, It's a Cloud.

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end animal cruelty in Cananda

I was contacted over on my blog, For the Love of Raw, by a fellow animal rights activist and advocate. Please visit this sight to sign a petition to end animal testing and seal blugdeoning in the otherwise awesome country of Canada. Let's get some action and see the end of unnecessary animal cruelty.

Sign the petition here.

Ride me, I'm Irish?

I saw this Harley on the way to work a few weeks ago and have been waiting for it to reappear so I can share it. Look at the atrocious shamrock detail work on an otherwise beautiful bike. It's painful, but, hey it's not mine.

TOMS Shoes

I'm loving these vegan-friendly fall boots from TOMS! Check out their site for other vegan options. Look sharp, live vegan.

TOMS Shoes

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