Calories

Fruity Organic Salad

 

Today I made a pledge to eat healthier than normal and made myself a delicious salad for dinner. It had a pleasant but not overwhelming sweetness that I just had to share.

 

To make this particularly tasty salad I used:
•A mixture of organic fresh greens
•Organic blueberries
•Freshly picked strawberries from my garden

 

The dressing was made using a Dark Chocolate Oil with a splash of white wine vinegar. The ratio between oil and vinegar is determined by personal taste.

 

enjoy my little herbivores

Sad Cat Diary

This clip made my day! I hope it makes your day too :)

 

 

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Tofu "Egg" Salad Recipe

With a tablespoon of mustard to give it a yellowish hue, this tofu egg salad recipe really looks and tastes like egg salad. Serve on bread with lettuce for a vegan "egg" salad sandwich.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 block firm tofu, drained
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise (use Vegenaise for a vegan version)
• 1/3 cup sweet relish
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 stalk celery, diced
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp mustard
• dash paprika for garnish (optional)

Preparation:

In a medium-sized bowl, mash the tofu with a fork. Add remaining ingredients and stir together until well combined. Sprinkle with paprika for garnish, if desired. Serve on bread with lettuce for an "egg" salad sandwich, or spread on crackers for a casual hors d'ouerves

enjoy my little herbivores

courtesy of vegetarian.about

Vegetarian Spider

The eight-legged vegetarian, called Bagheera kiplingi, lives in Central America, and is now considered a rarity among the world's 40,000 or so spider species, most of which are strictly predators, feeding on insects and other animals. B. kiplingi is about the size of a person's pinky nail.

"This is really the first spider known to specifically 'hunt' plants; it is also the first known to go after plants as a primary food source," said study researcher Christopher Meehan of Villanova University in Pennsylvania.

 read more at livescience.com

Myths vs. Facts

Roughly 20 million Americans are vegetarians, from partial vegetarians who limit the amount of animal flesh they eat, to vegans, who eat only plant foods—no meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, or eggs.

A vegetarian diet may take a little extra planning—especially at first—but it is easy to learn how to ensure your diet is healthy.
As with any diet, you have to make the right choices. Here are some myths surrounding vegetarian diets.

Myth: Vegetarian diets are always healthy.

Fact: People who follow a vegetarian diet are relatively healthier than those who don't. Vegetarians tend to have a lower incidence of obesity and fewer chronic health problems, including some cancers, heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

It's difficult to determine, however, whether the vegetarian diet or the overall lifestyle deserves the credit for better health. Vegetarians tend to exercise regularly and not smoke or drink.
Moreover, if you make the wrong food choices, a vegetarian diet can be downright unhealthy. A steady diet of ice cream sundaes and french fries, which technically are vegetarian, won't lead to good health. Teenage girls who are vegetarians often are deficient in iron and may get too little calcium as well. Teenage girls and women who are vegans may be deficient in vitamin B12.

Your best bet: Daily, eat a variety of plant-based foods, including: fortified whole grains, fruits, dark green leafy vegetables, beans and legumes, tofu, and fortified soy milk or low-fat dairy products.

Myth: You shouldn't follow a vegetarian diet if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.

Fact: You can meet the nutrient needs of pregnancy and breastfeeding through a plant-based diet if you choose wisely. Your health care provider may advise you to take an iron, B12, or folic acid supplement.

Myth: It isn't safe for infants, children, and teens to be vegetarians.

Fact: Infants, children, and teens can meet their nutritional needs through vegetarian diets, although
meeting those needs is more difficult than with a standard diet.

To ensure a child receives all the necessary nutrients, a parent must plan and follow the child's diet carefully. In addition, a health care provider or a dietitian can provide additional assistance.

Myth: A vegetarian diet is always low in fat.

Fact: If your vegetarian diet contains dairy products, you can still get plenty of saturated fat from whole milk, cream, and cheese. If you're a vegan, you won't consume as much, if any, animal-derived saturated fat, but you can still overdo it on unsaturated vegetable fat, such as olive oil and canola oil. Although unsaturated fat tends to be heart healthy, it still contains as many calories per tablespoon as butter and can lead to weight gain if you consume too much.

Myth: Eating a vegetarian diet always reduces your risk for heart disease.

Fact: Although vegetarians tend to have a lower risk for heart disease than meat-eaters, simply following a vegetarian diet might not be enough.

Because of the genetic factors associated with heart disease, a person may be predisposed to high cholesterol or high blood pressure. These risk factors may require medication—no matter how heart-healthy the diet.

Courtesy of the University of Rochester Medical Center

Little Dresses for Africa

So today, I discovered that a group of girls I know are doing their part to contribute to developing countries. They are sewing up a batch of sundresses for a charity that sends them to girls in Africa. Little Dresses for Africa are the non-profit, Christian organization, that delivers these sundresses to Africa. These sun dresses are made from gently used pillow cases which are easy and simple to make into a little dress.

WHY PILLOWCASES? The pillowcase pattern has been around since the pioneer days and is easy enough for even a novice seamstress. Pillowcases are available in so many colors and patterns. They already have the hem and sides in them and are often sitting unused on shelves in closets all across the country. With just a little help they can be turned into bright little sundresses, perfectly suited for the African climate. Pillowcase dresses are only a suggestion. Any simple pattern is great to use.

To date over 1.5 million dresses have been donated.

“We’re not just sending dresses, we’re sending HOPE!”

I took some pictures in hopes of inspiring others!

 



 Get the pattern here!

The Vegan Survival Guide

 

Here is a Vegan survival guide I received from Love-Vegan. She has a lot of vegan recipes, articles and advice. Go check her out for more information!

1.Read ingredient labels – You will find that you buy foods time after time. You will obviously know what’s what in these foods.  When you buy new foods however, ALWAYS check! You often get an allergy warning too. That won’t always tell you, if it contains meat, but will usually tell you about dairy and eggs. Once you have checked for the obvious things – like meat, fish, dairy and eggs don’t forget – honey and gelatin  I usually stay away from “Natural Colourings / Flavourings  Natural can mean anything including cochineal which is crushed bugs (YUK). But the “Natural Flavorings” could be meat of fish. Don’t risk it!

2.If in doubt ask! – I recently asked at my local supermarket about an in-store baked loaf of bread which had what looked like butter and garlic on the top. I asked if it had egg or dairy in it. They checked all the ingredients and I found out that not only could I eat this loaf but the entire in store baked breads were dairy and egg free! Bonus!  When you go to a restaurant, ask if the “fries” are fried in the same oil as fish or chicken are fried. However, if you are not bothered about this then don’t worry!

3.Show compassion! – I believe we shouldn’t preach to people about their food. Unfortunately Vegans are given a bad rap because we can be quite militant in our beliefs. I believe there is a time and a place for this and out for a nice relaxed meal with your friends, family or colleagues is probably not it.  People may find it difficult to respect your diet but make sure you rise above it and show compassion for them! Kill them with compassion!
 
4.Eating Out – When I’m planning to eat out, I usually research the restaurant well so that I know what I can and can’t eat. It’s also a good idea to call the restaurant and let them know before you go that you are Vegan and confirm what that means. A few days before is great and that way the chef will have chance to order any extra ingredients in. However, I’ve called an hour earlier to pre-warn the restaurant and they were still able to accommodate. If you are off to a movie or show you may find yourself hungry afterwards so it means popping into the local restaurant. This can be a total worry for us wonderful vegans. I’ve taken a great tip from the great Kris Carr of Crazy Sexy Cancer. Order a huge salad and then take either the rice, cous cous or lentils from this dish or the sweet potato fries, pasta or broccoli from that dish, burger without the meat even!? There is always something you will be able to find – just think outside the box

5.Bring your own! – If you’ve been invited to a BBQ or a party, make a dish to bring. Prepare yourself if it’s incredibly vegan, your friends might not eat it but hey more for you!

6.Answer questions – This is a fine line of being informative without preaching. People are often interested in how you can take on a Vegan diet. The cries of “I could never do that!” forever ring in my ears.  From my experience I have found it is easier to avoid confrontation by just saying I am doing this for health reasons. People can understand a diet change for health (Many have done more difficult diets than a vegan one!) My advice is start people slowly you can then move on to other parts of being vegan. My favourite question is “Where do you get your protein!?” Ever heard the expression – STRONG LIKE BULL! Bulls are Vegan you know!

7.Substitute, substitute, substitute –                                                                                                                                                                                   
Butter – Olive Oil or Dairy free Margarine
Eggs in baking – banana or applesauce, baking powder or you can get egg re-placer 
Chicken or Beef Flavor – Onion, Garlic or vegetable stock cubes   
Milk – Soya milk, Almond milk, Oat milk, Rice milk, hemp milk and even Hazelnut milk – There are loads just try and pick a favourite
Cheese – There are many different types of non dairy cheeses. Nut cheeses and even soya. Some of the Soya ones melt too – great for vegan pizzas.  
Meat and Fish – You can buy so many different fake meats and fish.

8.Snacks – Take snacks everywhere you go! 

 A Bottle of filtered water (essential)
 A Herbal teabag
 A piece of fruit
 Some nuts
 Chopped veggies (carrots, celery) with hummus.
 
9.Vitamin B12 – I  usually have fortified rice milk with B12 in or marmite but, you can also have supplements.

10.Eat your greens! – Leafy greens are natures intended food they have loads of protein, iron, vitamins, minerals and chlorophyll. All essential for a healthy diet!

11.Soya – It can cause health problems.  Its great in moderation just don’t rely on it as your main food. I have it 2 or 3 times a week but you should decide how much you want it. Err on the side of caution.

12.Ignore negative criticism – Always do that, which you know to be right. You will get negative criticism here and there but, you will become a great judge of what you can and cannot say in the right situation. Quietly lead by example.

13.Find like minded vegans – You can Twitter other Vegans; join forums or even a local Vegan society. You can find out about it on the Internet.

14.Don’t make it more difficult than it is! – Take it 1 meal at a time! This is an evolving process. However, don’t kid yourself that it’s the most difficult thing that you will ever do because it’s not. The more you tell yourself how difficult it is, the more difficult it will be! This is what stops people from giving up smoking and giving up meat for just 1 meal!

15.Plan, Plan, Plan! – Again another obvious one but so worthwhile! In the beginning its really essential. Fail to plan – Plan to fail! – Winston Churchill

16.Try Everything! – As long as its Vegan! If you don’t you may miss out on a delicious morsel! If you hate it, don’t eat it again.

17.Whoops! – If you have an accidental mistake, don’t beat yourself up! Just pay attention, learn from it and move on! Its unlikely you’ll be caught out by meat but you may have the odd occasion of dairy or egg.

18.Research – Research everything! The Internet is an amazing tool and if you are equipped with lots of knowledge you will find your journey a lot easier!

Bring a Bagel for Lunch

Bagels are a hard food to bring for lunch because the contents get so messy and squished. I came across this picture and it's amazing because it's recycling and super convenient. Take a CD storage container, clean it and TAD-DA you have a perfect size bagel holder. No more squished bagels and messy eating!

Inside out Caramel Apples

A great snack and easy to do!
 
INGREDIENTS:
3 large Granny Smith apples
1 large lemon
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tbs butter
2 tbs light corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)

ACTION:Cut your apples in half and use a melon baller to scoop out the insides, leaving the walls intact at about 1/2 inch thickness.(NOTE: the more you apple you remove, the more caramel you will end up with)

Squeeze the juice from the lemon onto the apples and allow to set. This will keep them from turning brown right away.

In a sauce pan over high heat, add the brown sugar, butter, heavy cream and corn syrup. Stir until the brown sugar has dissolved. Allow to boil, stirring occasionally, until it reaches 230 degrees, about 7-10 minutes. Remove from heat and add the vanilla, stir continually until it stops bubbling. Allow to cool for about 10-15 minutes.

Using a paper towel, wipe your apples down, removing the lemon juice as much as possible. If the inside of your apple is too wet, the caramel wont stick.

Pour the caramel into the hollowed out apples until just below the top.

Sprinkle with pecans. (if desired)

Chill in the refrigerator until the caramel has set, about 20 minutes.

Cut into serving slices.

Enjoy my little herbivores.

caramel recipe courtesy of  domesticfits