Tag Archives: vegan

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My vegan dog

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My dog eats vegan dog food. Have I lost my mind? Am I forcing my beliefs on my poor dog? Not at all! Let me explain.

Frankie is an 11-year-old rat terrier. Ever since I adopted him when he was five, I was interested in feeding him the healthiest food I could find. I started with a high-quality, human-grade, fish-based food, thinking I’d be avoiding factory-farmed meat. But fish is often factory farmed too. And the oceans are being depleted, so wild-caught is just as bad. Fish are sentient beings and I couldn’t justify it.

Later, I made Frankie homemade vegan meals, to which I added Vegedog, a powdered supplement especially made for dogs. Frankie loved it, but planning his meals was a lot of work. Besides, Frankie will eat anything. Cheap kibble, human food, garbage, cat poo. I felt like my culinary skills were being taken for granted.

frankie with his v-dog

Then I found V-Dog, a cruelty-free kibble. It’s free of wheat, corn, soy, fillers, GMOs–and of course animal products. Frankie loves it. He has lots of energy, and “clean up” is better too (by which I mean, good in, good out).

As for me forcing my beliefs on Frankie, here’s how I see it. In the wild (well, dogs are domesticated, but you know what I mean) dogs wouldn’t be eating prepackaged food. They wouldn’t be chemical-laden, not-fit-for-human-consumption castoff meat bi-products from factory farms. Reality is, most commercial dog food is crap. The parts of the animals that people don’t eat are sent to rendering plants for pet food. The diseased animals, the ones with tumors, even roadkill and euthanized cats and dogs, can end up in dog food.

In the wild, Frank would be a scavenger, an omnivore. He loves watermelon, but he won’t turn down meat. For him it’s not a moral issue. For me it is. I had a hard time aligning my vegan values with the fact that I bought him meat-based food. Heck, some pet food companies even test on animals. Luckily with V-dog, I don’t have to compromise.

There are other vegetarian dog foods on the market (like Evolution, Ami Dog, and Natural Balance vegetarian formula) and if you have a dog, I’d encourage you to try a few and find one that suits him or her best. I chose V-Dog because it’s a vegan-owned business and is recommended by a host of organizations, from veterinarians to animal sanctuaries.

Resources:

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Daiya vegan cream cheese

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I was recently offered the chance to test some products by Daiya. I’d already tried Daiya dairy-free cheese slices and I’d heard about their new spreads, so I eagerly signed up for the job.

Daiya spreads

Daiya is vegan, so it’s naturally lactose- and casein-free. Unlike some vegan spreads, it’s also soy-free, so if you have a soy allergy, don’t worry! I kept things simple for my first tasting: mini bagels and two types of spreads. I wanted to experience the flavor of the product.

The chive and onion was amazing! It’s a smooth, creamy spread and satisfied my bagel-and-cream-cheese craving. The strawberry was a real treat! I bet I could make a great cheesecake with it. The Daiya site has lots of recipes, so you can try new dishes.

chives or strawberry

Daiya is named after the Sanskrit word Dayaa, which means “loving, kindness and compassion.” I love that Daiya Foods is founded on these values. Voting with my dollar is important and supporting ethical companies is something I’m always happy to do.

The thought of giving up cheese is often what holds people back when they contemplate veganism. Well you don’t have to give up anything! You can have the cheesy comfort foods that you’re used to making and you can eat cruelty-free. You’ll also reap the health benefits of a plant-based diet when you ditch dairy.

Look for other reviews. I’m going to try Daiya shreds either on a pizza on in a cheddar beer bread recipe. I’m also going to perfect a grilled cheese sandwich using their wedge.

Have you tried Daiya?

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Farm Sanctuary message gear

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I recently met up with my friend Barb, of healthnik.org. We caught up over lunch at Araya’s, a vegan Thai restaurant in Seattle’s university district. Their all-you-can-eat buffet is not to be missed! After lunch, we walked a few doors down to Vegan Haven, Seattle’s only all-vegan grocery store. I got Barb to pose for me out front. It seemed like a good backdrop for a photo shoot featuring vegan wear.

Barb bought her belt at Vegan Haven. It’s made of recycled conveyor belt. She replaced the plain buckle with a unique bird buckle from the co-op in Mount Vernon.

Barb had just come back from New York State and told me about her experience visiting Farm Sanctuary.

Barb in FS gear

T-shirt: Farm Sanctuary
Jeans: Calvin Klein via Goodwill
Belt: Held Belts
Belt buckle: FluffyCo
Bag: Farm Sanctuary

The tour was a very positive experience. She got to meet a lot of rescued animals and learn about each of their unique stories. While she was there, she picked up a few pieces of merch.

Barb is wearing a T-shirt from Farm Sanctuary with a vegan/environmental message: Reduce your carbon hoofprint: Go meat-free! Environmentalism and veganism go hand-in-hand. Factory farming is a bigger source of carbon emissions and pollution than all the transportation industries combined!

Barb also picked up a great shoulder bag. It looks perfect for carrying a couple of books or magazines. It would fit a camera nicely too, and probably is big enough for a tablet or iPad. Plus, the message is clear.

Shoulder bag

Barb was thoughtful and brought me a pin and magnet. The magnet is on my fridge. Look at that cute lamb!

lamb

I think everyone should visit a sanctuary. If you’re not vegan, you’ll see first-hand why ditching meat, milk, and eggs is a great idea. If you’re already vegan, you’ll be uplifted by seeing the ones who made it out–animals who were destined for the dinner table and were saved because of the hard work of the Farm Sanctuary people (and donations from its supporters).

Farm Sanctuary has locations in New York and California, but there are many other sanctuaries. Your area might even have one. If not, planning a trip near a sanctuary is a great reason to visit one.

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Vegan Savannah

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I like to visit new places, and of course I’m always on the lookout for vegan options. I pack Luna bars when I travel so I’m never hungry or deprived, but what I really enjoy is finding a good vegan meal–sometimes where you’d least expect it.

On my recent girls’ trip to Savannah, Georgia I was pleasantly surprised at the vegan choices I had. Southern cuisine is world-renowned but not especially known for being vegan. I did a little planning by looking up places on Veg Dining and Happy Cow. I found a couple of vegetarian places and a host of veg-friendly restaurants.

I started every morning at the Sentient Bean, where I had a soy latté and vegan burrito. I took a slice of vegan banana bread to go and was full ’til dinner. This cute little coffeehouse is a gem at the end of Forsythe Park.

soy latte

Walking through the park was a great way to start the day. On Saturday, the park hosted a farmers’ market, where I picked up walnuts, fresh berries, toasted kale chips and a bag of grits. (I’ve since veganized a classic grits casserole recipe.)

One evening, my friends and I splurged on dinner at Cha Bella, a decidedly non-vegan restaurant. It did offer local, organic cuisine and sustainable in-season veggies. I was graciously offered a vegan entrée (and I honestly can’t remember if it was on the menu or especially made for me–the service was so good, everything seemed made for us). At most restaurants, ask and ye shall receive. But do tip accordingly!

For another meal, we stopped by the casual Kayak Café, where I had the seared tiger tofu burrito and a delicious side salad. Kayak Café prides themselves on being able to make almost any dish vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free.

tofu taco

Moon River Brewing Company was another great, casual place for a bite–and they have a big, outdoor beer garden. There wasn’t anything explicitly vegan on the menu (well, fries or a house salad maybe), but my lovely server worked with me to create a vegan wrap. She even checked with the cook to see if the rice was vegan (it wasn’t–they cooked it in chicken stock or something). I loved that she looked out for me like that. I wrote a thank-you note on the receipt and left it with my tip (again, showing a little appreciation goes a long way).

At Jazz’d Tapas Bar, I chose a roasted garlic hummus plate and a fresh salad. I was really there for the drinks, so a snack was perfect. We ate and drank and listened to the live band and a crooner who sounded exactly like Frank Sinatra.

At Leopold’s Ice Cream I found a refreshing lemon sorbet. It was as close to tutti-fruity as I could get. Johnny Mercer wrote the song Tutti-Fruity after his favorite flavor at Leopold’s.

Leopold's

Savannah was a lot of fun and I had an easier time eating out with my friends than I thought I would.

Two tips when travelling (besides packing Luna bars):

  1. Visit a grocery store for fruit and snacks. I dropped by a Kroger supermarket and bought soy yogurt, apples, bananas, baby carrots and hummus. They fit in the hotel room fridge, saved me from eating out three times a day, which in turn saved me some money.
  2. Look for “ethnic” cuisine. Indian and Thai places, for example, are in virtually any city and are pretty much guaranteed to have vegan dishes.
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Tabouli and bean salad

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I’ve been eating a lot of beans lately. There are so many types and they’re all so delicious! Yesterday I wanted to make a quick bean salad so I opened a box of garbanzos, a box of kidney beans, and a box of black beans. The boxes are the equivalent to a can of ready-to-eat beans but I like that they’re not in a tin and that the tetra-pak style of the packaging is easy to recycle.

I mixed up a box of tabouli, which already had spices, parsley and cilantro in it, and combined it with the beans. It took about five minutes to whip up and all I had to do after that was chill it for a bit.

bean salad

It made a great lunch, and truth be told, I had it for dinner too. For dinner I added grilled cheese with whole grain bread and cheddar-style slices by Daiya. The grapes were an edible garnish. Hubby and I shared a delicious, healthy, easy-to-make meal. It was perfect for summer. I didn’t heat up the kitchen and the cool salad was refreshing and filling.

I’ve joined Healthy Vegan Fridays organized by Carrie On Vegan, Green Thickies, and The Veggie Nook, so be sure to check out what everyone else is making in the kitchen!

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Gender-specific pronouns and animals

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One step in learning to treat animals as sentient beings, not mere objects, is to use gender-specific pronouns. A dog is not a thing. Nor is a cow, eagle or mouse.

I’ve read numerous news stories about animals and for the most part, animals are called “it.”

  • The pig and its piglets were rescued – No, it’s her piglets. We know that because only females can give birth.
  • The steer broke its neck – No, it’s his neck (and the cowboy broke it). Steers are male.

If don’t know the gender of an animal I’m talking about, I assign one. In a story about two animals, one becomes he and one becomes she to make the distinction between the animals clear. “The raccoon chased the squirrel, who ran up a tree. She stayed in the tree for a while but he started pacing so she came down. He licked her forehead and they walked away together.”

Unlikely example aside, I believe gender-specific pronouns matter (and using one matters more than getting it right). This might even be why I give animals human names. My dog is Frankie. My cats are Alice and Margot.

rabbit

She likes eating my plants, but I don’t mind.

I tend to call dogs he and cats she because I speak a little German and in German cats are assigned a female pronoun (die Katze) while dogs are given a male pronoun (der Hund). This has less to do with sentience and more to do with grammar. In German a hat is masculine and banana is feminine (der Hut and die Banane).

Other languages like French and Spanish assign gender to animals and inanimate objects too so I’m really talking about English, where we know an animal is a he or a she but we say it.

Calling an animal he or she won’t stop cruelty. It won’t turn the world vegan either. But I think it’s a small step toward acknowledging that animals are thinking, feeling beings with a similar range of emotions to humans. They show fear, love, anger, frustration. They can be silly and funny or shy and reserved and we need to think of them as individuals not commodities.

Farm Sanctuary has a Someone, Not Something campaign that addresses this. They focus on farmed animals because we already tend to look at cats and dogs as family. Conversely, many people see cows, pigs and chickens as things to eat.

Next time you’re talking about animals, listen to yourself and see how you refer to them.

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Arbonne vegan skin care

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Have you heard of Arbonne? It’s a line of Swiss-developed skin care, cosmetics, and nutritional supplements. They’ve been in the US since 1980 and they’ve been green before green was popular. All products are 100% plant-based (vegan certified) and never tested on animals.

arbonneI was contacted recently by an Arbonne rep and I jumped on the chance to try the products in the RE9 Advanced line, specifically formulated for anti-aging. I got to sample the cleanser, toner, serum, eye cream, night cream, and two types of day creams. I love them! They smell wonderfully citrus-y and are so gentle on my skin.

I know it sounds weird, but in just a couple of days I swear my skin looked firmer. It didn’t feel tight though, which can be a problem with some skin firming products. The moisturizers gave me a nice glow and provide SPF 20–perfect for daily protection.

I also tried some samples of the Arbonne cosmetics and I really liked them. The tinted moisturizer had just enough coverage to not look makeup-y, and the translucent powder was really silky.

Needless to say, I placed an order. I want to keep using these products and reap the full benefits. I ordered a couple of masks, and a Vitamin D+B12 spray that tastes like candy! That’s going to be a great thing to use in the gray Pacific Northwest.

arbonne calmArbonne has other lines too. The FC5 and Calm lines are great for sensitive skin and for those with rosacea. I gave some samples of their baby care line to a friend of mine with an infant. They carry a men’s line too, as well as body- and hair care.

Sapha, my Arbonne consultant, helped set me up as a preferred client so I can get 20% off my purchases, points toward future orders, freebies, and other goodies. She can help you too if you’re interested in trying Arbonne. She can ship all over the US, Canada, and other places and she’s more than willing to help you find out what your skin needs. You can reach her at (281)748-7943 or saphaariasyoga@yahoo.com or you can log onto Arbonne and sign up with the code  13728752.

One more thing I liked but haven’t tried is their line of makeup brushes. As a vegan, it’s hard to find high-quality synthetic brushes. Arbonne has them!

If you use Arbonne, I’d be interested in hearing what products you’ve tried.

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They say steak has vitamins

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I was innocently perusing the pages of a women’s health magazine when I came a cross a rather offensive ad. It was a full-page advert that proclaimed: That’s right: Steak has vitamins. How do you like us now?

steak ad crumpled up

Hmm. How ’bout Not At All?

The beef-it’s-what-for-dinner-folks (aka the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association) had the audacity to target a health-conscious demographic who they thought might be eschewing beef for healthier options. The ad bragged that beef has B vitamins.

A 3 oz. flank steak has 158 calories and 25% of the daily value of B6, 23% of B12, 7% riboflavin, and 34% niacin.

So what?

B vitamins are a great source of energy, but potatoes have 31% of B6. Portobello mushrooms have 24% of riboflavin. Peanut butter and passion fruit have loads of niacin. And B12? I’d rather get it from fortified bread, soy milk or a Luna Bar.

When you get your vitamins from plants, you don’t have to deal with bad cholesterol, saturated fats, trans-fatty acids or animal protein. If you’ve read The China Study, you’ll know that animal proteins turn on cancer cells. Plant proteins turn them off.

No amount of sugar-coating by the Beef Board will make me eat meat. My dog is chock-full of vitamins but I won’t eat him. A human cadaver has vitamins, but that’s out of the questions. I eat things (plants), not beings.

I’m not really surprised that the beef industry is duping people. I’m also not surprised that a magazine will accept ridiculous ads (ads pay the bills). I just hope people are smart enough to see through all the bull.

Have you seen and ridiculous ads lately?

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Nasoya giveaway

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Who wants to win a couple of jars of Nasoya? One lucky person will get to try the same products I used to make my mock tuna salad and my banana muffins (not the same jars though–you’ll get a new set!).

Nasoya

All US residents are eligible. All you have to do is leave a comment below, leave a comment on the Sunshine and Slaughter Facebook page, or tweet me @jeaniebellini. Or, raise your odds and do all three!

I’ll keep this giveaway open until June 30th, when I’ll pick a name at random. I’ll put the winner in contact with the generous folks at Nasoya and they’ll send two jars your way. There are tons of recipes on their site, from potato salad to chocolate cake–or you can spread it on a sandwich!

July 1st update!

I used an online random name generator and the winner is:

winner of Nasoya draw: uglicoyote

Congratulations uglicoyote–I’ll email you for next steps!

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Vegan banana muffins

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When I received my jars of Nasoya for the recipe challenge, I thought I’d be trying the products in a savory way (the mock tuna salad). I had no idea I could use a mayo substitute in a dessert.

I found a banana muffin recipe on the Nasoya site and it called for Nayonaise. Perfect! Like Nayo Whipped, it’s a healthy, vegan product and a great source of B12 and omega 3s. How would it fare in muffins?

muffins in tin

Well, awesome! It was a simple recipe that called for ingredients that even me, a very occasional baker, already had in my cupboard.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup Nasoya Nayonaise Original Spread
  • 1 cup mashed bananas (2 or 3 medium)
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 cups flour (2/3 C whole-wheat, 1 1/3 C all-purpose)
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • Optional: 1 teaspoon vanilla, chopped peacans or walnuts

Preparation Method:

In medium large bowl beat bananas. Beat in sugar and Nayonaise (add the vanilla and or nuts if using). Stir in flour, soda and salt just until moistened. Fill muffin cups and bake them in the oven at 350° F for 20 – 25 minutes.

I added chopped walnuts. And since I can’t follow a recipe to save my live, I tweaked things slightly. If cooking is an art, baking is a science. And it’s best not to mess with scientific formulas! All I had was whole wheat flour, so I used only that and no all-purpose flour.

I also know that ripe bananas are best for baking (and more nutritious!) so I made sure I had a very spotty bunch.

The muffins turned out perfectly!banana muffins

I ate two warm, right out of the oven, and so did my husband. We saved the rest for work snacks. The muffins were moist and delicious and tasted great warm and room temperature. They didn’t dry out, even on day three. We ate them rather quickly so there was no day four.

The Nayonaise essentially replaced any eggs or butter that one might use in a recipe like this. So you can have a cruelty-free, healthy snack that’s easy to make.