Homemade Fruit Dip

I love eating strawberries with fruit dip cream cheese. Yum Yum. The picture below is from Cafe Lashay where I wax about my love affair. (Side note...Sly, how many freaking blogs do you have?, you may wonder. No worries. In the next week, my new website will premier where you will be able to find all five of my blogs plus more in one location. I can not wait. I've already seen drafts from my friend and the amazing designer and its looking great!)

The fruit dip cream cheese that use for my strawberries has an average cost of $4 to $5 dollars. Is that expensive? Maybe. Seeing as to how I eat every drop and never waste an ounce compared to other food that I waste, perhaps its not as expensive as it seems. Still, if I can find a way to save a dollar so that it can be invested into something else, I'd love it!

I decided to make my own fruit dip since Wholefoods did not have the store bought brand I'm used to buying. Keep in mind this recipe isn't "organically sound." The ingredients are not all natural. I suppose what's sustainable about this recipe is the economics of it all.

Ingredients

• Fluff
• Whipped Cream Cheese
• French Vanilla Yogurt (I did use stoneyfield since I believe in his all natural business)

Preparation

• Spoon two large dollops of fluff into a small mixing bowl.
• Spook one large dollop of whipped cream cheese into the same mixing bowl.
• Spoon two(ish) sort of spoonfuls of yogurt into the same bowl.
• Stir until its all blended together.
• Dip fruit and enjoy.

This dip tasted the same as my store bought brand and it was much cheaper.

Does anyone know a more organic way that I can create this dip because "Fluff" isn't going to help my body any time soon?

Vegetarian for Three Weeks and Counting

I haven't eaten a single piece of meat, including seafood for three weeks now. It hasn't required that much intentional effort since I ate very little meat to begin with.

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I went to an amazing Indian restaurant with my great artist friend, Jantira and I was able to order a completely tasty, SPICY, fulfilling meal with all vegetarian options. I went to the Spice Market with Amber and again, we were able to order a huge meal to be shared and it was completely vegetarian. I want to do reviews of both those restaurants soon!

At work, I'm often faced with challenges regarding my eating. It's harder to eat organic here and when lunches come it, we often just grab what's there. This time though...like yesterday, I just made sure I was intentional. Veggie Burger and Cajun Fried. In reality, I shouldn't even be ordering that. In actuality, I should be bringing my lunch each day because then I'd know my food came from the local CSA and its organic and sustainable.

(It trips me out that things can be organic but not sustainable. Or things can be natural but not organic. Or things can be environmentally sustainable but not culturally sustainable. I'm reading the book version of Food Inc and there is a section where the guy talks about heirloom tomatoes and he talks about what use is it to have an organic tomato, if the people who picked it are being mistreated, underpaid, and put at risk. So sure I eat organically, but is it sustainable environmentally and culturally? This freaking rabbit hole keeps getting deeper.)

As is, I have maintained a completely vegetarian eating regime for three weeks. Next week, after completely moving into my AMAZING apartment with the BEST KITCHEN ever, I will venture into a week of veganism. I did it once last year. The hardest part was not putting cheese and sour cream in my vegetarian gumbo. And after that, perhaps a week of raw food. I've been toying with that idea for YEARS! I even dated a raw foodist once. But I haven't taken the plunge. After finding the amazing blog , Raw on $10 a Day, I have renewed hope. I can't even begin to tell you about the amazing cheap recipes this woman concocts. Basically, I'm going to have to do a post just on her and her blog! Maybe I can even get her to do a granola interview.

The best vegetarian dish I've had in the past few weeks. Hmmm..the avocado, onion radish salad from the Spice Market and their stir fried asparagus with lotus root and lily bulb. God, you just have no idea!

What is your favorite vegetarian dish?

By the way...its a little hard being a vegetarian when you don't like mushrooms or eggplant. I personally kidn stand either.

The One Time its ok to Bite the Hand....Buddha's Hand.

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I was doing some grocery shopping and perhaps because I'm reading Food, Inc. as my book of the week, I felt the need to be even more conscious of what I purchased. I decided I wanted to purchase fruit that was in season so I turned to google to find some answers.

The best website I came across was EPICURIOUS. com


I use Epicurious for many of my recipes at Cafe LaShay and therefore I trusted their site. What separated them from many of the other websites I came across was that they listed by month and by location what was in season. Sure, a mango may be in season...but in season halfway across the world. So I wanted to know what was good for this month and for New York. I didn't get many options but that's not the point.

For New York, it said that the growing season is currently dormant and that I should opt for items from storage such as apples, pears and root vegetable. (Side note, I'm currently looking for a CSA to participate in in Brooklyn and am excited!)

While searching for seasonal, local fruit I came across some things I had never heard of. Have you ever heard of Buddha's Hand?

 

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I didn't read too much on it yet. I couldn't tell you where it comes from or if its even available in the US but I just loved the name. It's like saying "God's Hand." "Jehovah's Hand." "Allah's Hand" "The Divine's Hand" or something like that. Who wouldn't want to eat it. Its one of my goals to try a fruit I've never even heard of. Depending on the availability and location of this fruit, maybe I'll be biting into Buddha's Hand.

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Do you consider the season and your location when shopping? Do you find the choices limiting? Have you ever heard of Buddha's hand and do you know more about it.

Sugar and Coffee

I've pretty much given up coffee completely. Since December of 2009 I've only had two coffee drinks. I've also given up most forms of sugar even raw. I only use raw sugar for cooking and/or baking.

 

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I sweeten most things with agave nectar. Mainly my African Nectar Mighty Leaf tea. Because I've come to love agave nectar so much, I won't even use honey. Honey only comes in handy for baking, cooking, and homemade products now. Now if I run out of agave, I'll just have my tea by itself. Eventually I won't even need the agave nectar anymore!

I can't remember the last time I purchased granulater sugar. I like that. And the coffee that I still have in the house...that's just used for my Brown Sugar Coffee Body Scrub.

Taking coffee and sugar out of my daily nutritutional intake...adding more fruit, water, and vitamins, I've noticed my body feels lighter. Things are processed better. I wonder how enlightened I'd feel if I went completed raw. Perhaps I'll try going raw for just one day and then vegan for a day, just to note the differences.

Do you notice a difference when you eat only vegetarian meals versus raw meals versus vegan meals? How often do you drink coffee? What do you use to sweeten your drinks and foods?

Homemade Apple Crisp

Awhile back I made homemade apple crisp with some apples from work. Rather than throwing them in the garbage. I've also brought bananas home and made banana oatmeal cookies too.

Here is the video I made.

After making my video, I felt bad that I didn't look for a more organic way to make my apple crisp. So I searched for a healthier version to try in the near future. So I'm going to be trying this one soon.

Fruit Loops has Fiber

Back in October I wrote about Kellogg's latest commercial where they spoke of Poptarts containing real fruit. I was slightly enraged with their lies and marketing scheme geared towards children to endorse their product in a greenwashing manner.

I recently saw their latest commercial.



I wrote before.....
First off, it always annoys me how so many toys, snacks, and all around products are geared towards children and not the adult who's buying the item. The commercial above is for a child to see and then beg their mom in the grocery store for.

Now the kid will say, "But mommy, it has fiber!"

How about giving your child granola and adding a spoonful of ground flaxseed with mixed berries. Or giving them granola with organic milk topped with blueberries or raspberries.

I acknowledge that it is uber expensive for a typical family to feed their children on an organic diet. I know. The part in Food Inc, featuring the family who had to decide between fruit or chips was heartbreaking. I get it.

But its just annoying.

A friend of mine babysits for a family that only feeds their daughter real food. She grew up eating avocado mashed up rather than McDonalds. One of her favorite foods is squid and not hot dogs. I'm sure she even knows what flaxseed is. :) Her babysitter told me the story of how when she was about two, her and her friends were talking about what they were going to eat for a snack. One kid said, "A hotdog." Another said something else just as blah. And then she said, "Noki."

What do you feed your children for breakfast?

Organic Natural Breakfast

A few months ago I watched Food Inc. To say that move shook me to my core is an understatement. Watching that movie reminded me of when I watched Friends of God and Rosie O'Donnell's Gay Family Cruise. After seeing those two documentaries, in addition to having some life changing experiences, my "religious" perspective was shook to its core and I went on a two year journey of self discovery and spiritual enlightenment. Watching Food Inc, also reminded me of when I read and saw The Laramie Project and Angels of America. After experiences those two pieces of art, in addition to having life changing experiences, my paradigm of thinking of same sex orientation was forever changed.

Watching Food Inc, altered my view of food. I felt it in my gut! For a few years now, I've "wanted" to change my eating habits. Its pretty healthy but I could stand to be vegetarian/vegan/raw. I could stand to be more intentional about consuming only organic or natural foods. I could stand to eat more fruit. I could stop snacking on certain foods which have no nutritional value. I even bought a lot of cookbooks on eating raw, vegan and vegetarian. I even once dated a raw foodist! But nothing worked.

Then I saw Food Inc. Have you seen it? It's available to watch instantly on Netflix, if you have a subscription. Shoot, even if you don't have a subscription, I'd give you my login info just so you can watch it. It's that important. I started taking notes while watching it. I'd post those later. I bought the book too. It's next on my reading list. I had my entire family watch it over Christmas too. At some points, my mother cried. I understood the sentiment too. But I'll talk more about Food Inc. later.

Because of Food Inc, I've changed a lot of my eating habits. But I still have a long way to go.

My daily breakfast intact now consist of one of two things.

 

 On the weekends, I eat cereal.

Right now I haven't found a specific brand of cereal that I like but its always some form of granola. I'm really liking this AgavePlus Granola right now. I then add a spoonful or two of ground Flaxseed. And I've completely switched the milk that I consume to almond milk.

I'm not a heavy milk drinker. I only consume it when adding it to something. Before Almond Milk, I drank 2% milk. I have a homemade recipe for almond milk that I will start making. I plan on doing that when I move into my new apartment. (I'm in temporary housing right now as I continue to transition. Just recently moved to New York!)

So when I'm home, this is what I have for breakfast. And i tell you, I feel like a treehugger eating it. But its good. And I notice that my body feels better. I respond better to almond milk than any other kind. Plus, I DO NOT like soy milk. Ugh!

When I am at work, my breakfast is something completely different. One thing I lack in my daily nutritional intake is FRUIT. I don't like fruit, except mango. So I hardly eat it. But I've found a creative way to get me to consume fruit.

 

Smoothies!!!

Yum. Yum. I love smoothies. Jamba Juice has received too much of money. And the fraps at starbucks receive too much of my money too. And I doubt either is as oganic as it could be.

Just about every morning I make a fresh smoothie at work. It consist of...

Fresh and Frozen strawberries

Frozen mangoes

Half a banana

100% pomegranate juice

sometimes a splash of orange juice

Ice

Half a container of vanilla yogurt

 

Mix it up and drink up!

Yummy. Natural. No extra sugar. Just fruit, yogurt, juice, and ice!

I have no clue how many servings of fruit I add to my intake by drinking it.

I usually have half a banana and half a cup of yogurt left, so I eat that too.

This is a great way to start my day.

 Sometimes I make way too much so I freeze the rest and later on I have a homemade sorbet and its just as good too!

What do you consume for breakfast? Do you have suggestions on various fruits I could add to my smoothies? Have you seen Food Inc?

Dive! The Film

I came across the trailer for this movie in one of my sustainability RSS feeds. Having just watched it, I'm at a lost for words.

I'm sure there are some people who look down on people like those in this film because the Dive in dumpsters for food. They see them as too granola. And that fact that they can be arrested is sad.

We waste so much food!

To digress a little bit I remember a commercial years ago about dieting and they said something like, "Leave a little of your food on your plate at each meal"...because if you did that every time it would add up to you eating less and less. What that means is that left over food goes into the trash! Why not just put less food on your plate in the first place.

Anyways. I know a little bit about food being thrown out when its still viable. My company when hosting an event that's catered sometimes tosses the food out at the end of the day. Why? Because we don't have a place to store it. Because we can't give it to the homeless because of liability issues. When I am able to, I take as much food with me to rehearsals and performances for the actors and crew to eat. Sometimes I've taken fruit and made cookies and pies with them and brought them back to work.

Still. So much food is wasted. But what can you do when you can't donate it to a worthy cause. At least, don't arrest the people who have the balls to dive for you food.

Why can't all restaurants and such offer the day old food that's still viable at discounted prices. I know some places that do that.

Somehow I believe part of this is due to money. Profit. Capitalism and consumerism. Its like when instead of sharing the food with the underprivileged in the past, farmers would burn the food instead. It's crazy.

I have faced my own challenges with living alone when it comes to preparing food and not wasting it.

• A lot of my food used to go bad by the time I got around to using it
• I've tried shopping as needed versus doing monthly shopping. Sometimes though I don't have the time for that
• I've also tried cooking multiple recipes that require the same ingredients, thus lessening my chances of wasting raw ingredients

• A lot of my food used to go bad because I didn't want left overs three and four days later
• I've learned to invite friends over so they can eat my food too. Makes it disappear faster
• I've learned to alter a lot of my recipes so that I'm not making as much

Do you waste a lot of food in your home? Do you compost? Would you ever dive in a dumpster for food?

Honestly, I'm not sure that I would ever dive in a dumpster because all the other germs and trash freaks me out. But I don't judge the people who did it. I think they are pretty cool. And I'd eat the burger at their party too.

World Vegan Day

Although I own two vegan cookbooks, I have spent little time pursuing vegan dishes.

Last week I made a black bean vegan soup. Although I realize I would have made it exactly the same way without being conscious to that fact that it was vegan. I believe there are a few staple things in my diet that lean towards a vegan tendency since they overlap with vegetarianism. (But occasionally, I do like my yogurts, cheese...mmmm smoked mozzarella...and I like 2% milk, although I drink almond milk too...) So, some meals are vegan and I don't even realize it. However, it should be noted that I don't adhere to a complete vegan lifestyle, so I can't claim a title that isn't mine.

I'm not sure why I started this on Monday,...perhaps from the black bean soup on Sunday maybe, but on Monday I decided I would try being vegan for the week. But I am honest with myself. So I said, I'd try being vegan for a day. And then the next day and then the next. And hopefully it would add up to a week.

SUNDAY was easy. I had spicy basil with tofu for lunch and black bean soup for dinner

MONDAY was easy too. I had a pear, and a vegetarian gumbo from Qdoba sans the sour cream and cheese, that I normally add on. (I thought it might taste weird without including those but I didn't even notice a difference)

 TUESDAY was an epic fail. First off, I've been snacking on fruit and drinking water and all that good stuff since last week's No Impact Project but then something happened on Tuesday. Because I ate tons of candy...thus producing trash. And I think for breakfast I started out with M&M's. Then someone ordered Thai for a meeting and I looked at the vegetarian option and it was okay. It was tofu with broccoli. I took a few spoon fulls but it wasn't seasoned. (You cannot have unseasoned tofu. That is why meat eaters laugh at you. Although I know meat eaters who don't season their chicken or steak. What is wrong with you people? Have you ever heard of salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, hot shot, chili pepper, garli and onion salt? Something for goodness sake?) Anyways, the food wasn't that great and I was hungry so I cheated...not only did a break a vegan rule, I broke a vegetarian rule. I grabbed some of this spicy chicken dish and it was good! I felt bad later on in the day and for a snack I tried granola cereal with soy milk. Oh hell no! I'm sorry. I just cannot get into soy milk. Some things are an acquired taste and some things just do not work. If I am going to be successful at this vegan thing, I'll have to find the perfect almond milk! Later that night when I went home, I had more of my vegan black bean soup.

Wednesday was okay. Up until rehearsal I was doing fine with all the vegan-ness. And then at rehearsal I had a vegetarian sandwich..it had cheese on it. Crap.

Today...so far...I've been doing well. All vegan food. We will see though what happens later. :)

The final push for me to try vegan-ism this week was after a conversation with one of the actors at rehearsal on Sunday night. He is a vegetarian but says that occasionally he will go a few days without diary products and he achieves a higher level of mental clarity and his body feels a bit better. With that encouragement I embarked on a week of trying a vegan lifestyle.

But I'm a google whore, so I started looking up what vegan's really are, why they are and aside from their diet what else do they do. And actually to my surprise...I promise you this was not planned....but I also found out that coming up in three days is World Vegan Day. I promise you I did not plan that at all.

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There is a day for everything, I tell you. When is World Sheena Day?

In a quest to find out what being a vegan was really about I went google crazy and found all sorts of info and helpful websites. It seems like people become a vegan for one of three reasons, if not all of them.

Animal Rights. Environmental Factors. Health Reasons.

(Also as I type this I want to say that I haven't had coffee in a week and I feel a difference. A good difference. My stomach is more settled. My emotions are easier to manage.  My body feels better. The tea I'm drinking instead is more soothing and less heavy.)

I also found that there are dietary vegans and radical vegans. (These are my own terms or maybe someone else uses them. I don't know but they make sense to me) Dietary ones are the ones that just alter their food intake. Radical vegans alter the kinds of shoes they purchase, the kinds of clothes they wear...they alter every single thing! (But just as my director at Redmoon Theater pointed out who by the way is a vegetarian and her husband is a vegan..."ok, you choose to have vegan shoes. You can go to payless and get some cheap synthetic shoes that had no impact on animals but then they were made in China and an 8 year old made them for two cents and they were made under horrible conditions so sure there isn't animal cruelty but there is human cruelty and earth cruelty so where does it end.")

Okay, so she didn't say it exactly like that but that was pretty much it. Its like opening pandora's box. The balance between the human condition, the animal condition and the earth's condition, I suppose.

But I am one of those people who are all in or nothing. So if you say vegan than alter your clothes, shoes, and complete lifestyle. (It reminds me of black women who wear the banner of promoting natural hair and yet they wear globs of crappy makeup, they eat mcdonald's every night and they use lysol wipes to clean their counters. How the hell is your natural hair better than chemically processed hair when the rest of your lifestyle is chemically processed? That's a tangent for another day. Natural hair and how that helps the environment but all the crazy zealots out there who won't shut up about it. Another post in the making featuring what I learned about the man who invented the chemical hair relaxer in the first place. Her was also the man who invented the first stop light type device and safety helmet.)

I found a list of vegans and some of them are people I admire such as George Bernard Shaw (novelist and playwright), Martin Luther (founder of Protestantism...while I'm not one, I love the rebel that he was), and Voltaire (French author). I even came across some really intriguing quotes too but will post them each day leading up to World Vegan Day.

Want some interesting vegan reads?

Try What is a Vegan Diet? or any page on Vegan.org

There is also the Eating the Earth booklet  and the really helpful Vegan Catering for All

I even went so far as to google Vegan Shoes. While there were some nice ones and they make the world a better place by purchasing them...I am not going to pay an absorbent amount. Remember my Sustainable Guidelines? Aside from those guidelines though, I found one pair that is actually at a reasonable price. They are really cute and I just broke my brown pair of flats. Even after hot gluing them back together. They gave up again. So I need to purchase another pair..

Do I think every person should be a vegetarian and/or vegan and/or eat raw foodist only? No. What I believe in is moderation. I don't believe you should eat steak every day. I also don't believe its possible for me to eat an apple every day because I'd get bored. There needs to be variety, substance and moderation in your diet. (I say there needs to be...but I'm not expert)

Besides, even though I don't think man has dominion over the earth, I still believe an animal dying every now and then is a given that occurs.(hmmm. what do I mean? some of the vegan quotes I came across compared killing animals - slaughterhouse with killing man - battlefields. And just as I feel war is inevitable and sometimes a necessary part of life, so is animals.) I don't think we should be cruel to animals and subject them to harsh conditions. But sometimes, its a necessity that needs moderation. I have no facts on this but I think of native americans who sometimes killed animals for the warmth of their fur in the winter seasons. And yet native americans are hailed for their careful loving treatment of the earth. And yet they killed animals. In moderation for necessity. At least I think. If I'm wrong, tell me the facts. I could be making this up as I type.

On a recent episode of CSI Miami, a young couple dies from e coli poisoning and the harmful side effects of genetically altered corn. The owner of this huge corporate farm when facing off with Horatio says, "If we grew food naturally, people would starve. There would  not be enough to feed people. Therefore if genetically altering food kills one so that five hundred can eat, then that is a good thing."

Wow! I say. Wow! My reactions were...the earth will provide. When we treat it well, when we our stewards over our land, when we aren't greedy capitalist just looking for a profit, there is enough for everyone. More than enough. But we are greedy. We want a 16 oz filet mignon. We are fat with our desires thinking everyone of them is justified and should be satisfied. And while some things are out of our control sometimes I feel like the hurricanes, earth quakes, droughts and famine happen because we helped them happen. When did a whole town starve because nature did not provide in the time of need? Somewhere else in the world there was abundance to assist where there was a lack. But because of politics, culture and bullshit, people did not receive what they needed. So the earth provides, we just mismanage. Have you seen my quote at the very bottom of my blog. I truly believe it!

There is a sufficiency in the world for man's need but not for man's greed. ~Mohandas K. Gandhi

Years ago...I'm talking back when I was in high school I believe, I came across a comic bit in the New Yorks Times or something. I have it in one of my files and will try to find it this weekend to post. But it is the funniest thing. I'll explain it but its much better when you actually see it.

The comic is a picture of a banquet and there is a banner that says something like "PETA 2050". And there are animals dressed in tuxedos and ballroom gowns. And on the banquet table are human skulls and the meat is human meat and stuff.

There are no words or anything. Its just a little funny joke about where we are headed with the extreme rights we give animals. It's an exaggeration but its cute and funny. Although I may have offended vegans and vegetarians everywhere.

What are your thoughts? Do you believe everything should be a vegan or vegetarian? Or even raw foodist? I knew a man who believes that nothing dead should enter his body because it was holy. So that was why he was a raw foodist. Do you think moderation is key? What do you think? Have you tried being a vegan for day? Did it make a difference?

My Indoor Garden

I'm sure I could google the benefits of growing plants, herbs, veggies and flowers in your home or apartment and a BILLION list will come up on how doing so makes your life better and the earth happy.

Google is always my impulse. Google and Google Scholar. I love using Google scholar to find research and such.

But I decided to just list my reasons for growing plants and herbs in my apartment and why I like it.

My jade

I bought this jade a long time ago from Ikea. It was such a baby plant. Like how a kitten fits into the palm of your hand. The jade fit into my palm and was a little bitty baby. And now, oh my goodness. I've repotted it four times. And it keeps growing! And its very very pretty.

That's reason number ONE: Keeping plants enhance the aesthetics of your home.

I mean some people have a jungle growing in their apartment, but then some have enough that its just plain beautiful.

Ummm. I think this is lavender that hasn't completely bloomed yet. I planted about eight pots of things and can't remember what they all were. (Spearmint, cilantro, basil, jade, green onion,...don't remember what else). My friend Sam has some beautiful lavender growing in her apartment.

Reason number TWO: I feel connected to the earth. There is a power in putting my hands in the dirt, planting the seeds, watering them, and watching them grow.

One of the things I noticed about the lavender was that it would bend towards the sun each day. My lavender was doing sun salutations everyday. Plants do yoga! :) Because the plant would bend towards the sun at an almost intense angle, I would have to turn the pot every day so that it wouldn't bend too far in one direction and then fall over.

Watching the plant thirst and reach for the sun was crazy. Or watching the basil sort of drivel up because I didn't water it and then blossom open again the moment I did...there is just something about being connected to nature. Do you know what I'm talking about?

This is a little glimpse at my basil.

Basil will keep growing. That stuff is no joke. So long as it has room to spread it's roots...that stuff just will not stop.

Reason number THREE: I am able to provide for myself.

There was something immensely satisfying about being able to use the things that I grow in the things that I eat. I was cooking a stir fry one day and thought to  myself, "it would be great if I had bought basil when I was at the grocery store." But before my pout set into my face, I realized I had basil growing on my windowsill. Grabbing some leaves off and adding it to the skillet was magical. Oh my pride had a good moment. And usually I spend over $4 for a little thing of basil and half of it goes bad before I even use it all. But I paid fifty cents for basil seeds and only used half the packet and I have a plant that to this day is still growing and making my food oh so good.

Some times I also have bamboo but right now I do not. Bamboo is beautiful and low maintenance. And since I live alone and do not have a pet (for now.....)....and so by having plants I have a bit of life in my apartment too. I guess that could be reason number four.

Just found this picture. This is the second pot the jade ended up in. That's funny seeing how little it used to be. The jade is so big now its in this huge pot that sits on the floor now. Nevermind the windowsill. :)

Okay. So the picture above is of spearmint I think. In it's baby stage. And the picture below is when it starts to bend towards to sun.

But sometimes..the bend would be so severe I thought the plant was going to topple out the pot, climb out the window and try to fly to the sun. So everyday I'd have to rotate some of the plants. Does anyone else have to do this? Should I be rotating them? Am I doing something wrong?

So...I've thought up a reason number five.

 Reason number FIVE: the anticipation and then the actuality of the first spout is like wanting the first kiss from a person of interest and then getting it and its the best ever.

Well, that's a long reason but that's all I could compare it too. Waiting and waiting and looking at the dirt and watering it and wondering when a first glimmer of life will appear. And then one day you come home and you start to see little specks of green. And its like, "holy crap, this is amazing!"

Although I would love a garden to grow all my vegetables and herbs and plants, I don't have one. I live in a studio apartment in chicago and there is nowhere physical to put those desires. But I'm not limited. I have a window sill and my window sill is a platform for endless wonder. No matter your situation, there is a way. Maybe its a different way, but its still a way.

What do you grow?

oooh. I thought of reason number six. The herbs and vegetables that you do grow...well...at least you know they were grown locally. :) They weren't shipped from god knows where. They traveled like three feet from the windowsill to the skillet or counter top. Therefore, you are able to be an eco-conscious eater.

The Granola That I Am

A few of my most recent granola tendencies.... (as mentioned before, if I keep going down this path, you might actually catch me hugging a tree)

REUSING

On Sunday I brought a small brown paper bag of fruit to rehearsal for the actors. Once they had consumed the fruit, I folded the bag back up, put it in my bookbag and took it back home with me. Its now under my sink with my collection of bags.

On the same table with the crumpled brown bag, there were also two zip lock bags from the week before that had been filled with almonds and cashews. The bags were now empty and ripe and ready for the trash. Instead of tossing them, I put them back in my bag, took them home and washed them, dried them and put them with the rest of my ziplock bags.

On this same Sunday, we ordered Thai food. (I ordered Spicy Basil with Tofu. It could classify as vegan. It contained no dairy) The container that the food came in was definitely reusable! So dirty container and all, I stuffed that in my bookbag too and took it home, washed it and then used it to store my left over vegan black bean soup in. (vegan except for the scoop of yogurt i added into it. oops)

What have you extended the life cycle of lately?

ECO CONSCIOUS EATING


In considering my carbon food print, the waste I produce, and intriguing leaning towards a vegan lifestyle...today I did some things differently.

I walked past this candy bowl a BILLION times today. This one and one other one that is being kept around the office in preparation for our Oktoberfest this Friday.

It started at 8 am thing morning and I literally slapped my hand away. Man I wanted that twix and that snickers in the lower right hand corner. It has my name on it. But guess what....insert sad sigh here...I grabbed a pear instead. Yes, Sheena actually grabbed a freaking piece of fruit. I figured it was healthier. Plus our fruit is organic. And it yielded less waste than the snickers and twix. If only we had a composter at work. We'd be in serious business with all the coffee grounds and other organic matter we have in the trash there.

What I like, since participating in the No Impact Project, is that even though I ate the pear, I wondered if it was even in season. It's not in season in Illinois but it is in one of our bordering states...Missouri. (Honestly, I wouldn't have even asked myself if the fruit I was eating was even in season a week ago. Before I would have thought, I'm eating fruit so shut up and be grateful its not a pop tart. But now, with what i know, I find that I wonder beyond that. Knowledge really is powerful. Now I'm sounding like a freaking PSA)

This morning I also really wanted a nice cup of coffee. We have this K cup machine at work with lots of flavors and I was planning on mixing Mocha Nut Fudge with Rainforest Nut. Then I was going to add sugar, cream, whip cream and caramel. I was going to do it big. But then I thought about the Low Carbon Calculator Diet and I didn't make the coffee. Instead I had Sweet Ginger Peach Tea. I added honey instead of sugar since I didn't feel like generating more trash with little sugar packets. (However the tea comes in individual boxes that are wrapped in plastic. Really! So I thought about bringing my own loose leaf tea in from now on because that's even less trash. My loose leaf tea is purchased from Teavana and various tea vendors that I come across at street fairs and green festivals. Again, these are not things I even gave thought to before last week.) I realize now its not just about eating healthy and organic, but its also about eating with an eco-conscious mindset. Sure, the coffee is fair trade but have you considered the water it took to produce it? Have you considered how far it needed to travel? Asking myself these questions is growth and I'm glad its all circling through my mind.


WATER

I recently wrote about my struggles with finding ways to reduce my water usage and a dear friend, Erin gave me a very helpful suggestion. My problem was letting the water run for a long time in the mornings to warm up before I brush my teeth and wash my face because its ICE COLD! Erin suggested instead of letting it run, that I microwave it and use that. She suggested rinsing my mouth with the water that was left over. Honestly, I thought that was going to take too much time and take too much effort. And while I want to help the world, the selfish part of me doesn't want to be inconvenienced while I do so. Well ERIN....

What the hell is that, you ask!

Well the clear bowl is the water I heated up in the microwave for two minutes. It was enough to brush my teeth, rinse my mouth, wash my face and water my plants. It worked Erin! And I didn't waste any water!!!!! Thank You for giving me advice!!!!!!

What's that other stuff? Well the cream cheese container is actually full of my homemade tea tree face toner. The little bottle on top is full of my left over homemade face wash that I made the other day. I need to find a recipe for an all natural face moisturizer equivalent to the one I get from the Body Shop.

(Which by the way in the tally in how much I spend on my facial line from the body shop, I left out two things. The moisturize which is $16. And the make up remover which is $14.50. Which brings the total to $81. I spend $81 on all the stuff I used to buy for my face. WOW!)


TRASH

I noticed this at the end of the day today.

What is that, you ask!

That is one piece of trash in my garbage at work! That is a personal record. Usually my trash is overflowing so much that I sneak and throw stuff in other people's trash too. Usually its full of misprints from printing too much. Its full of wrappings from candy and gum. It's usually full of sugar packets from all the ones I put in my coffee. And I can't even tell you what else. Its just usually full of crap. And today, I almost threw a bag away but realized I could still reuse it and as I looked down I thought, "Holy crap! There is only one thing in my garbage!"

Its a piece of tissue that I used as a coaster because my reusable water bottle was sweating on my desk next to my iPhone and I was too lazy to find an empy conference room that might have coasters. I looked around me and saw a number of people using napkins as coasters and so I started looking for some coasters to order to keep around people's desk. The bag that I decided to keep...

....it made its way into my drawer where I keep all my left over bags.

What are you latest granola tendencies? Any suggestions on further steps I can take?

Vegan Black Bean Soup

Tonight I wanted to try a vegan recipe and decided to try a black bean soup. Soups are perfect for this weather. They are easy. Hearty and hit the spot. The last and I think you can freeze them. I'm not good with the whole "make food in bulk and freeze it and then defrost it." I must have the defrosting part wrong because it never turns out right.

One of my favorite soups is my Corn Chowder with Jalepeno Parsley Puree but I was trying to do something out of my comfort zone.

I found four recipes that I used as my inspiration. At FatFree Vegan I found a  Stormy Black Bean Soup . On AZ Central I found, Black Bean Soup. There was also two soups. One in Voluptuous Vegan and the other in the Soulfood Vegan cookbook I just bought.

These were the ingredients I was working with.....
1 can of Black Beans - in a can
1/3 of an Onion
1/2 of each of a Yellow and Orange Bell Pepper
2 Tbs of Minced Garlic
Lots of different seasonings
1 can of Vegetable Broth
1/2 of a Jalapeno

 Cut up your onions and bell peppers and jalapeno

Add the garlic, bell peppers and onions in the pot. Let it sautee until the onions are soft.

 One of the seasonings that I added was the mix from a street market during my Labor Day Trip to New York. The seasoning had dried roses but also dried chilies. It was really chunky and I didn't have a pestle and mortar. So I put it in a ziplock bag and used a rolling pin to crush it. When the lovely Frenchman crushed it at the street fair, it was so potent and strong, he started to tear up. This stuff is strong..whatever is in it.

 Add your seasonings and black beans to the onions and bell peppers

(Drain and rinse your black beans beforehand)

Yum Yum.

Next after a few moments add your veggie broth. Reduce the heat and let it simmer. If its not soupy enough you can add water. One recipe even says you can substitute the veggie broth with water.

While this is cooking, I also made rice. I used instant white rice. I recommend brown rice.

One recipe says to add a scoop of sour cream or scoop of yogurt. I didn't have any sour cream. But I did have plain yogurt, since I recently purchased it to make a homemade all natural face mask. (I love when I find multiple uses for things I have around the house.) But I did think yogurt in my black bean soup was going to be weird and too different. (It reminded me of when Sam made a pie that involved blueberries and yogurt. I scoofed at first and yet it was amazing) Same thing here. Adding the yogurt...was actually very tasty.

Once its all done, add in your rice. A dab or two of hot sauce and enjoy!

(I would also add tofu and lime as well next time)

Pop Tarts, Made with Real Fruit

I've seen this commerical one too many times.....



First off, it always annoys me how so many toys, snacks, and all around products are geared towards children and not the adult who's buying the item. The commercial above is for a child to see and then beg their mom in the grocery store for.

"But mommy, its made from REAL FRUIT!" the kid will whine.

If by "made with real fruit" you mean 10% of the filling is made from dried "real" fruit. But is that 10% of fruit even organically grown fruit or infused with pesticide and genetically altered fruit?

10% Really! 10% and you get to say its made from real fruit.

Nevermind greenwashing. I say green bullsh!t.

You want to give your children something to snack on give them a box of raisins or real dried fruit. Dried mangoes taste amazing. Give them blueberries. Fresh squeezed orange juice. Give them almonds. There is even a bubble gum recipe in my book Raw: The Uncook Book made from natural ingredients.

Yes parents have limited time and sometimes can't make a full breakfast and their kids are whining and they hate apples and its just easier to give them a pop tart and really it only happens once every now and then so its not so bad...... Really, you don't have the time to give your child something more wholesome than a pop tart made from 10% "real" fruit. Ok. Go right ahead.

The Washington Post wrote an interesting article about this new marketing scheme ploy technique from Kellogg's.

What kind of snacks do you give your children? Is "made from 10% fruit" good enough for you?

What's Going On - Granola Tendencies

Last week, Granola Tendencies received a little blurb over at the Greenists. What's funny is that I've been looking at the site for information about taking care of your pet in a sustainable way because I am HEAVILY considering adopting a kitten!!! I've been reading the site for about a week now and didn't even notice their shout out my way.

The shout out was about that fact that Sam and I made an Apple Pie with Gouda Crust. We found an Apple Pie with Cheddar crust on epicurious but Sam wanted to alter it a bit. All of her ingredients were natural, organic, raw, unbleached and local. So it was really as good as it gets.

Sam will be featured REALLY REALLY soon in granola tendencies first interview! I can't wait till you hear from her and see the pictures I took of her apartment.

Thank Greenists for highlighting Granola Tendencies and Sam's Apple Pie. Sam and her roommate Laura, also made a very good vegan meal that evening too which included Tomatoes stuffed with Risotto, Homemade Dill Bread, and Gingered Carrots.

Granola Happenings

One of my granola goals was to become more active in sustainable community events and activities. I realize that in just over a week, I've already started to work towards those goals.

Tonight, I will be attending a speaking engagement and reception hosted by Blacks in Green where Dr. Greg Watson will be the guest speaker. Dr. Watson is the Senior Adviser for Clean Energy Technology within the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and the Vice President for Sustainable Development with the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative...amongst many other things.

Photo Credit

In order to promote awareness about 350, tomorrow afternoon I will be participating in the Chicago 350 International Climate Action Day bike ride. The group will cycle around the city riding past many of the other 350 action day events. I'm hoping that this event will spur me to ride my bike more often...even to work.

Also...I've been telling everyone about the International Climate Action Day and I have a colleague that's going to be joining me for the bike ride!!!!

Photo Credit 

This weekend I will also continue to make my homemade body products including a face cleanser, toner, exfoliating scrub and mask.  I recently made a Coffee Brown Sugar Body Scrub and can't wait to try out some new recipes. I will also be tracking the cost versus what I normally spend at the Body Shop and hopefully there will be some savings. (I'm assuming so, since all the ingredients were products I readily keep at home except for the Witch Hazel.) I can't wait to tell you about what happens.  I am researching recipes for shaving cream, shower gel, and body butter too. What other things should I make? I suppose once I run out of my green cleaning products, I can look into creating my own. I'd need an all purpose spray, a glass cleaner,  and a disinfectant cleaner. I'll also poke around under my sinks and see what else I keep in there.

my homemade Coffee Brown Sugar Body Scrub

This weekend...tonight actually after the Dr. Watson event, I will be making a vegan black bean soup. Now I realize many of the meals I eat are vegetarian with a high percentage of them even being vegan. Therefore I'm on the right track. But what i want is to be more intentional about making vegan meals. And after calculating  my carbon diet I'd love to steer more towards a vegan approach to life with hints of raw food. Therefore I'm going to start using some of the recipes in four interesting cookbooks that I own. 

Raw: The Uncook Book.

The Voluptuous Vegan 

The Yoga Cookbook: Vegetarian Food for Body and Mind

Vegan Soul Kitchen: Fresh, Healthy and Creative African-American cuisine

This weekend I'm also looking forward to posting an interview with my granola friend Sam as well as starting to process how I can become an eco-conscious theater artist and what that means for me as a writer and stage manager.

What are you doing intentionally to become more eco-conscious?

Do you know of any other events or things in the Chicago area that I could be a part of?

Food - No Impact Project

 

Photo Credit 

I am always hesitant to evaluate my food intake. I don't believe its well balanced at all. While I eat TONS of vegetables, steer away from fast food, and could count on my hands the number of times I have eaten meat in the past few months...I still snack on candy, don't drink enough water, and hardly EVER eat fruit.

Its hard to describe. On the surface it looks like I'm eating a well balanced meal throughout my day.

 This was dinner last night. Good right. Tons of vegetables (Although I realize asparagus is now out of season and I could have substituted the instant white rice for jasmine or brown rice). But what I realized is that on an average day I only eat one to two meals a day. And its usually a salad or veggie stir fry.

Lunches vary. We order lots of catering at work. Today I had a falafel sandwich. Yesterday a ceasar salad. So I just kind of eat what's there.

I hardly ever eat breakfast. Just as I can count the number of times I've eaten meat..I can also count the number of times I've eaten breakfast. When I do it consist of oatmeal, with fruit and granola. Or yogurt with granola.

Again. Sounds wonderful and balanced. Except again, I'm only eating one to two meals a day. Either because I'm busy or just not that hungry. I'm also not eating enough fruit. And I have a feeling that if I ate an apple or orange or banana, I might have more energy. But I don't like any of those fruits. The only fruit I like is mango. And that's not in season either.

I could keep going back and forth with this. With how when I eat, its pretty good yet there is a need for more fruit and brown rice I guess.

Other things that I eat

Following the How To Guide, I learned a bit more about trying a Low Carbon Diet. This has nothing to do with denying yourself moderate tasty things in an effort to look like Halle Berry which will never happen because you are not Halle Berry. This is all about eco-conscious eating. Something I never thought about before. I played their interactive game.

 While I eat "healthy," I didn't realize it still wasn't that eco-conscious. One cup of coffee cancels out the positive effects of my eating tofu. Why drink coffee when I can drink green tea with honey? (because sometimes coffee just taste good...all nutty, caramely, creamy and delicious.)

But I think if I was fully aware of the complete impact of my tasty choices, perhaps I'd be more inclined to change. There are a few things that I know I can do.

One suggestion was to eat less, therefore you waste less. To me that means, quitting that bad happen of just stacking my plate with more than I can actually eat. We do that too often. I once heard of a study where people were brought into a room with plates of food and asked to eat until they were full. Most people finished everything on their plate. The next day they were brought back but this time they blindfolded the group and asked them to eat until they were full. No one finished their plates. More than half..didn't even eat half. I find that so interesting. How much food do I actually throw away? Such waste. (I couldn't collect some of my trash in my bag of shame because it was food and I can't carry around decomposting food in a bag for a week. But I was conscious of how much food was going into the regular trash and it made me uncomfortable.)

Another thing I can be more intentional about is eating seasonal food. The guide directed me to a website that shows you what's in season in your area depending on the time of year. Very simple. Although I have issue with the fact that asparagus is no longer in season. I eat that a LOT!

The website was also gently suggesting a lifestyle of vegan choices. Hmmm. I am open to change. I own two vegan cookbooks. One is a soulfood vegan one! I also have a raw uncook book and a yoga vegetarian cookbook. I've spent some time going through the recipes that seem interesting and compiling a list of ingredients to purchase. First up, I'll be making a black bean vegan soup. On Friday that is...while I'm also making my own facial products!

Another suggestion is to skip out on processed and packaged food. That means no CheezIts with Tabasco sauce or Triscuit Crackers with Rosemary and Olive Oil. Those are two of my favorite snacks. So what will I be able to snack on? They suggest nuts and seeds. I like sunflower seeds. I guess I could purchase that in bulk. But where do sunflower seeds come from? How far does it travel to get to my local grocery store? Or is there a better snack to try and that's better for the environment? (The fact that I'm asking these questions, is the first step.) Maybe I should snack on rose petals and then use the left overs to make a rose face mask. (dripping sarcasm)

I went through the list of the foods that are in season that I actually enjoy. That list consisted of....

• bell pepper
• corn
• garlic
• onion
• potatoe
• ruhbarb
• spinach
• tomato
• snow peas
• carrots

On my wish list, I'd have a garden. I remember my grandmother always had a garden full of vegetables and herbs. I also have an aunt who owns a farm. Although they keep livestock and don't grow food. They grow hay though. (Also, they don't kill the livestock. The bulls and horses are their pets. Must be nice)

My Aunt and Uncle's Farm in TN

I never considered the environment before when planning meals. I always just think about what I like and focus on making that. I was taught not to waste food because it cost money. But no one ever brought up the fact that is cost resources as well. That by choosing salmon during a specific time I was credit from the earth that I'd never be able to pay back Shelagh mentioned she has a friend who knows where all of her food comes from. I aspire to be like that. To know the true impact of the life that I live...from the electricity I use at home, to the way I choose to travel and to the food I choose to purchase. I am definitely considerings participating in a CSA next year as well.

First immediate goal....make my vegan black bean soup. (I need small measureable steps to exact large scale changes in my life. This soup with be one of those.)