The Most Important Meal of the Day

I know, from lots of experience, that eating breakfast can be a challenge some mornings. I can’t even think about food until I’ve been up for a couple hours. But did you know that breakfast is actually the most important meal of the day. It is what starts your metabolism and that is important for when you first wake up. Did you know that by skipping breakfast you are actually increasing your chances of gaining weight?

The best thing you can do is drink a glass of water right after waking up and by the time you are done getting ready you will probably be able to eat before you go to work/school. Eat an apple or banana if you your stomach still can’t handle a hardy breakfast. It will help you out in the long run.

Watermelon Cake

Are you looking for a great healthy dessert idea for your next get together? With the health movement becoming all the rage people have been creating healthier alternatives for everything including desserts. Here is a scrumptious looking idea that is both vegan and vegetarian!
 
Ingredients:
- 1 large seedless watermelon
- 2 cans full fat coconut milk (left in fridge for 6 hours or more)
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp. raw honey
- 1 cup sliced raw almonds
- Seasonal fresh fruit (for topping)

Directions:
TO MAKE THE COCONUT WHIPPED CREAM
1. Make sure to place the can of coconut milk in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours (or overnight). This will cause the cream to separate from the milk. The cream will be at the top of the can.
2. Open the can of coconut milk and scrape out the cream into a medium sized bowl. Hint: I always open the can from the bottom and pour the milk out into a separate container before scraping out the cream. You can use the saved milk for smoothies and other recipes.
3. Add the vanilla and raw honey to the mixture. Whip the cream with a hand mixer on medium speed and work your way up to high speed until the cream is fluffy. Place the bowl of whipped cream in the fridge until ready to use.

TO MAKE THE TOASTED ALMONDS:
1. Place a medium sized skillet over medium-high heat and allow the pan to get hot.
2. Add the sliced almonds and toss in the pan until they are toasted and turn a light brown color. Remove from pan and set aside to cool.

TO ASSEMBLE:
1. Remove the top and bottom from the watermelon and remove the rind from the middle section. You should be left with a cake-shaped piece of watermelon. Cut the watermelon "cake" into the number of wedges/slices you want (I recommend 6-8 slices depending on the size of the watermelon).
2. Pat the outside of the watermelon dry with paper towels (this is important because it will help the coconut whipped cream adhere better).
3. Dip the outside edge of each slice into the coconut whipped cream and then into the toasted almonds, and reassemble the wedges into the cake shape on a serving platter. Top with more whipped coconut cream and your favorite fresh fruit (I used blackberries, strawberries and kiwi). Serve or store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Best when served within a few hours of assembling.
 
Enjoy my little herbivores.

courtesy of paleocupboard

BE A BUNNY’S BELLE OF THE BALLROOM

Kim Johnson (Dancing with the Stars) does a sexy photo shoot for PETA to raise awareness of product testing on animals and makes the pledge to go cruelty free for her cosmetic products.

I personally use mostly all vegan cosmetic products because of some sketchy information I was given a few years back about the ingredients in some cosmetic products. I find it extremely interesting that a lot of celebs nowadays are supporting the vegan and vegetarian movement.

Kim also did a quick little behind the scenes video where she shares why she participated in this ad campaign. WARNING: There are some pictures that are sad and slightly disturbing.

Check out this link and receive a free shopping guide if you are interested in finding out more about living the cruelty free lifestyle.

Ch-ch-ch-chia

Every time I hear the word Chia, I immediately think Chia Pet. But maybe it’s time to change that into super food? There are so many beneficial reasons to eat them.

1. They are gluten free
2. Aids digestion and the healing of digestion issues
3. Contains 20% Omega 3 ALA, making it a super food for the brain and heart
4. It boasts 20% protein and contains all 8 essential amino acids
5. Chia seeds are high in antioxidants
6. Promotes healthy hair, skin and nails
7. Chia aids in weight loss
8. Expels toxins from the body
9. Increases energy
10. And even helps reduce the effects of aging

These are only some of the many reasons to eat these strangely magnificent seeds.  Here is a RAW and vegan recipe for those of you looking to add a little Chia to your diet.

 

Blueberry Chia Seed Pudding

Did You Know...?

There are certain types of beer that contain isinglass (which is made from a fish’s bladder.) Guinness, Red Stripe, Fosters and Newcastle are some of the brands to stay away from if you are living a vegetarian lifestyle.

VEG-iversary

I would just like to say that I have been a vegetarian for 3 year as of April 15, 2013. I started my journey in high school and have continued right though college. It isn’t always easy but I can tell you this much... veggies are way cheaper than meat.

Carrots Give You Cancer

So you may have seen this post stating that baby carrots are a danger to your health:

"DANGER TO YOUR FAMILY!!
From the Department of Life Education:

Baby Carrots:
The following is information from a farmer who grows and packages carrots for IGA, METRO, LOBLAWS, etc.

The small cocktail (baby) carrots you buy in small plastic bags are made using the larger crooked or deformed carrots which are put through a machine which cuts and shapes them into cocktail carrots - most people probably know this already.

What you may not know and should know is the following:
Once the carrots are cut and shaped into cocktail carrots they are dipped in a solution of water and chlorine in order to preserve them (this is the same chlorine used in your pool).

Since they do not have their skin or natural protective covering, they give them a higher dose of chlorine.

You will notice that once you keep these carrots in your refrigerator for a few days, a white covering will form on the carrots. This is the chlorine which resurfaces. At what cost do we put our health at risk to have esthetically pleasing vegetables?

Chlorine is a very well-known carcinogen, which causes Cancer. I thought this was worth passing on. Pass it on to as many people as possible in hopes of informing them where these carrots come from and how they are processed.

I used to buy those baby carrots for vegetable dips. I know that I will never buy them again!!!!”

I’ve been trying to look into it and I found an article from wafflesatnoon.com which responds to this claim. From what I can tell they are no more dangerous to you than every other chemically treated vegetable in the grocery stores. They take deformed carrots and make them more attractive then rinse them in the same solutions that the rinse almost all market ready vegetables. It seems that the process is similar to the chlorination process they use to treat tap water (which is FDA approved.)

There are a few alternatives if you are not happy with this process. You can buy organic or you could buy local. Local vegetables don’t need to travel so they don’t treat them so extensively (that’s if they even treat them at all.) I buy from a local market down my street where they grow and sell their own vegetables. There is something comforting about seeing the food you are about to eat growing all around you. Also by buying local you are supporting your community.

Just remember to always wash your fruits and vegetables before you eat them!

"Perfect Wellness is a Choice"

So I am kind of on a Saje high right now. I just finished attending a seminar with the co-founder of Saje, Jean-Pierre LeBlanc and wow is he ever an interesting character (in a good way.) Saje is an all natural Canadian company that sells wellness and health products, for those of you who don’t know.

I was introduced to these products about a year ago and I have enjoyed my results. I now own more products from Saje than I can count. By that, I mean 30+ products. I have not come across a product that I have disliked. They use the best of the best organic herbs across the globe and create breathtaking combinations of essential oils. These oils can be applied directly to the skin or put into a diffuser (or nebulizer for best results.) Saje also sells bath and body products, candles, and remedies to replace your everyday pharmaceuticals. You might be a skeptic but believing is experiencing.  They have samples at all of their stores for you to try. Some of them even start working instantly.

Most of their products are labelled 100% vegan, are made using organic herbs and they do absolutely no animal testing. This is a great company to look into if you are interested in aromatherapy and living a healthier lifestyle.  
 

Here the story of Saje from the man himself.

DOGS FOR DINNER

These are some pictures that have been posted from the dog rescue in China at the beginning of March. They rescued 900 dogs from being sold to China`s slaughter houses, as most of you probably know by now. There is no denying that these pictures are heart wrenchingly sad. There is no need to treat animals like this. There is a lot of inhumanity happening with this issue but there are also a lot of double standards.

In the North American culture we consider dogs and cats to be pets and even a part of our own families. On the other hand; pigs, cows, chickens and other farm animals are deemed to be our source of food. This is the where the double standard comes into play. We get mad at places like China who do not have the capability to support these `farm animals` for their food source. However, they have an over population of dogs and cats which they use as their source of protein. Some places, like China, see dogs and cats the same way we see a cow or a chicken.  As food.

We call it inhumane, but how are we doing anything any different here in North America? We can try to reason for animal rights in China all we want but maybe we should start by looking out our own back door. 

We cannot expect other cultures to give up their protein source nor should they expect the same from us. I have never pushed my lifestyle choice on anyone else. It has affected the people around me but I do not expect them to change who they are for me. But, in all honesty, the only way to stop all of the animal cruelty is to stop supporting the meat industry. Unfortunately, this will never happen.

If you are looking for a brief overview of the story you can check out this post from the Huffington Post or a more in depth story with pictures from animalrights.com.