Alicia Silverstone's Blog, page 106

Special Discounted Macrobiotic Events with Warren Kramer

You’ve probably seen me mention Warren Kramer here before. He’s a macrobiotic educator and counselor. He’s so great at helping anyone who is sick or who wants to have amazing health. Also, anyone who is pregnant or trying to get pregnant! And he makes such yummy food… the food he makes and teaches about in his classes is nourishing, healing, and delicious!

Warren Kramer has a ton of upcoming events all over the country and he’s sharing a special deal for Southern California Kind Lifers! Last time he was in LA I went to one of the classes and I was hoping to see more of you there…it was so good! He will be in Los Angeles from June 19-23rd and Kind Lifers can get a special discount to attend one or several classes. For more information about the classes, see the flyer below (with the regular prices).

KIND LIFER DISCOUNT:
$40 Dinner and Lecture: Wednesday, June 19 6:30-9:00
$45 Cooking Class (food served): Thursday, June 20 6:00-9:00
$40 Dinner and Lecture: Friday, June 21 6:30-9:00
$85 Cooking Class (food served): Saturday June 22 10:00-3:00
$210 All four classes

Find out below how to get this special price.

Warren will also be holding private consultations June 20, 21, 22 & 23 (Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun). For more information, contact Birdie.

To get the Kind Life discount:
• Make sure you’re registered for a profile on Thekindlife.com
• Email Birdie before June 7th with the subject “Kind Life Summer” and include which class or classes you would like to register for in your email.

Will you attend one of Warren’s classes? If not, what keeps you from attending?

Have you attended any cooking classes before? Share your favorites in the comments

 

My New Green & Clean Mattress

We recently got an Essentia mattress and we really love it! You might remember them from our dog bed giveaway. They’re the only company making natural VOC-free memory foam mattresses, made of water, natural latex, cone essence, green tea essence, jasmine essence, and plant solid extracts.

Anywho… if you like Tempur-Pedic, but don’t want to deal with all the chemicals and icky stuff, then this bed is for you. We got the Essentia Beausommet mattress and it’s nice and firm. We got matching pillows as well. It’s one of those beds where if someone moves on one side, you don’t even notice on the other side. My husband loves that! And so does Bear!

The best part? It’s all made of eco-friendly material. And they are healthier than most mattresses.

I realize these mattresses are a major investment. But getting a clean and supportive mattress is one of the best things you can do for your health. You spend half of your life on your mattress and most of them have awful chemicals that you breathe all night long. Why not invest in a mattress that is better for your health? If you’re eating organic food and drinking clean water, having a toxic-free mattress seems like the next step in a healthy, happy journey.

By the way, all mattresses are required to contain enough Fire Retardant to withstand a 2-foot wide blowtorch open flame for 70 seconds. Because it’s cheaper, most mattress companies use a super toxic fire retardant, but I don’t want my baby sleeping on those toxic chemicals!! With the other mattress we have, I was able to get a note from a doctor to get around that (we haven’t gotten rid of that mattress; we still love it, but we just needed another bed). Instead of those chemicals, Essentia uses a non-toxic fire retardant. By using Kevlar, a VOC free, non-toxic mattress fire retardant, Essentia’s mattresses and crib mattresses are just as safe from fire as other brands, without all the nasty stuff.

What kind of mattress do you have? Are you interested in investing in a healthier one?

Do You Want to Hang Out with Me in New Orleans?

 

Calling all New Orleans Kind Lifers!
 
My family and I are heading to New Orleans soon for a short visit and we want to know about all of your favorite places. What are the best veg-friendly places to eat? What do we have to do while we’re there? We’ll mostly be hanging out in the French Quarter so what is there to do and eat there? And how about New Orleans City Park? 
 
I also want to invite a few of you to meet up with me while I’m in town.

 
Want to hang out?

1.     Make sure you’re a registered member of Thekindlife.com
2.     Make sure that you have a profile photo of yourself on your Kind Life account.
3.     Comment below with your favorite 1, 2, or 5 things to do, sights to see, or places to eat in New Orleans.
 
Maybe we can go to one of the great places you suggest! I’ll be reaching out to a few of you by Monday, May 27th so we can discuss where to meet up. Hope to see you there!
 
Photo source: flickr.com/Shubert Ciencia 

PETA UPDATE: Justice for Abused Rats and Reptiles

Jenna Dewan-Tatum Demands Justice for Abused Rats and Reptiles
By: Lindsay Pollard-Post, Senior Writer at PETA Foundation

Actor and mom-to-be Jenna Dewan-Tatum has joined PETA and the more than 30,000 compassionate people who are calling for cruelty to animals charges against those responsible for abusing thousands of rats and reptiles at California’s Global Captive Breeders, LLC (GCB).

For more than two months, a PETA undercover investigator exposed systemic neglect, cruelty, filth, crowding, deprivation, and stress at GCB. Workers at GCB routinely grabbed rats by the tail and slammed them against hard surfaces in attempts to kill them. They threw the animals into trash bins or into a reptile's cage while they were still alive and convulsing.

The crowded tubs that housed rats flooded virtually on a daily basis, drowning countless rats and leaving hundreds of others—exhausted, shivering, and terrified—to struggle to keep their heads above the rising water.

Snakes and other reptiles at GCB were so neglected that, in many cases, even their deaths went unnoticed by management for days, leaving enclosures and rotting carcasses teeming with maggots. The entire facility reeked of ammonia, death, and decay.

Based on PETA’s findings, law-enforcement officials seized more than 18,000 rats and 600 reptiles from GCB last December with help from PETA and other animal protection organizations—the largest seizure of rats in U.S. history and the largest-ever seizure of animals in California. Yet, to this day, no cruelty charges have been filed against those responsible for abusing these animals.

In addition to signing PETA’s petition calling on Riverside County, California, District Attorney Paul Zellerbach to file felony cruelty charges against those responsible for abusing animals at GCB, Jenna sent a personal plea to Zellerbach, writing:

As an expectant mother, I was particularly heartbroken to see photos of ailing mother rats with open wounds on their bodies who stood guard protectively over their dead or dying babies in the filthy plastic tubs that they were confined to without access to adequate food, water, or even moderately fresh air to breathe… Justice must be served for the unspeakable suffering endured by countless animals at GCB.

Here’s how you can help:
•    Please join PETA and Jenna Dewan-Tatum in politely urging Zellerbach to file criminal charges against all appropriate parties without further delay.

•    Never patronize stores that sell live animals and urge your friends and family not to either by sharing this investigation with them. The cruelty uncovered by PETA's investigator at GCB is typical of the filth, crowding, deprivation, and stress that PETA's investigations of pet-trade suppliers have documented over and over again.

 

Will you help by signing this petition?

Photo source: instagram / psuckit

Bear’s Birthday in Washington Square Park

 

For Bear's Birthday this year, we were in New York because I spoke at the INN Live conference for the Institute for Integrative Nutrition on May 4th. Bear’s birthday is on May 5th – he's a cinco de mayo baby. To celebrate, my husband came up with this nice way to spend the day. We gathered friends and my cousins who live in NJ to join us at Washington Square Park —Bear's winter playground (we lived right next to this park while we were in New York for The Performers from September to January).

Photos and a video from Bear’s first birthday

In lieu of gifts, we mentioned to everyone that Bear loves apples and blueberries. We told them if they wanted to bring something, he would be thrilled with those. So… he had SOO many blueberries to eat last week!

We played ring around the rosie.
 

My good friend Lake

 

And Bear played with Girlie Girl Army's founder Chloe Davis' little boy named Panther. A Bear and a Panther playing together.

 

What’s your favorite way to celebrate with friends and family?

Have you had or gone to any really great celebrations recently?

I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

Mmmm….Avocado Alfredo

Avocados are incredibly versatile and filled with good fats. They’re great in guacamole or cut up in salads, and they also make a great base for desserts and “cream” sauces. This recipe is a yum-looking veg take on Alfredo sauce, and a good option for those of you who prefer not to use soy-based dairy substitutes.

Avocado Alfredo

Ingredients

• 1 avocado
• Handful of basil
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 servings of cooked pasta
• Garnish of lemon zest and black olives

Get the instructions at EcoSalon.

What’s your favorite way to eat avocados?

A Cute Vegan Photo Shoot

I received this email from Elle and I wanted to share the eco-friendly and vegan photo shoot she put together. Read more about it in her guest blog below and enjoy her photos.

******

Sweet. Cute. Playful. Green. Vegan.
By: Elle Ellinghaus 

 


 
 

 

Hello from Charm City! My name is Elle Ellinghaus and I own elleDesigns, an event planning and design studio based in Baltimore, Maryland, designing worldwide.  I live in high heels, curl my eyelashes everyday, have matching letterpress note cards and pretty lined envelopes…AND I am vegan.  

After Valentine’s Day, a holiday full of chocolates and four course dinners of fare that once had feelings and a mother, I wanted to show what being vegan means to me: Sweet. Cute. Playful. Green. Cruelty-free. I wanted to illustrate that vegans come in all shapes and sizes. I designed a photo shoot with a vegan bakery, must-have cruelty-free pink heels and up-cycled items to make it come true.  I used an antique bench, mixed a vintage petticoat with some adorable modern dresses and added a pair of beautiful pink lips and heart-shaped balloons. We had a ball, especially me, smiling ear to ear as my sketches came to life.  It might be ooey-gooey sweet, but is also vegan, green and fabulous. 

 

 

 

Is there a photo that illustrates what veganism looks like to you? 

Share a link in the comments below! 

Model: Lori Finestine Model: Lori Finestine

Photo Credit:
Photography: Dani Leigh Photography
Design, Styling, Props: elleDesigns
Desserts: Dudley's Desserts Vegan & Specialty Sweets
Bench, Pillows, Location: Rusty Love Vintage Rentals
Hair & Makeup: Behind the Veil

9 Delicious Ways To Use Nutritional Yeast

Nutritional yeast is a fantastic food for flirts and vegans who love the taste of cheese. You can use it in all sorts of ways, and some brands are fortified with Vitamin B12.

1. Greek Salad with “Feta” by Lindsay

2. Vegan Mac & Cheese

3. Vegan Pesto Linguine by Maddi

4. Sammi’s Eggplant “Parmesan”

5. Yummy Enchiladas by Jennifer

6. Yummy “Neatballs” by Edwina

7. The Best Nutritional Yeast Dressing by Kate

8. Sweet Potato Tempeh Burgers

9. Kale Chips by Kayceez

Nutritional yeast isn’t superhero (see below for why), so I personally don’t mess with it unless I’m making a recipe that specifically requires it to create cheesiness. I don’t avoid it like the plague, I’m not scared of it, but I don’t go out of my way to eat it because I know it’s not a health food. For me, it’s okay to eat occasionally for a little added umph, but if you love it, that’s great.

Why nutritional yeast isn’t superhero according to macrobiotic expert Christina Pirello:

“Nutritional yeast looks great on the surface…it’s deactivated yeast that is a complete protein, rich in amino acids, b vitamins (but not Vitamin B-12, unless it’s fortified with B-12). But, in the end, it's very highly processed and far from a whole food. Also, it can cause the intestinal chemistry, the pH to be more acidic resulting in a feeling of a bloated belly."

It's not the worst and can be used in small amounts when people want cheesy flavor, but it's not the best, so it’s not superhero. People would be better off choosing white miso for their cheesy fix.”

Do you eat nutritional yeast? What’s your favorite way to use it?
Tell me in the comments below!

Help Stop the Ag-Gag Bills

A few weeks ago, Wayne Pacelle, the President of the Humane Society went on The Ellen Show to tell us about some new and important legislation. In this video, he explains all about it:

video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player

It’s so important that organizations like the Humane Society can show us what is going on behind the scenes.

You can find out more about the anti-wistleblower bills on humanesociety.org.

Help us keep the Ag-Gag bills from passing by spreading the word!

My Husband’s New Favorite Store

My husband Christopher recently found his new favorite store! He’s writing a guest blog to tell you guys all about it…

* * * *

My Shoe and Belt Revelation
By: Christopher Jarecki

 

I usually have a difficult time finding shoes and belts that are vegan. I think they started making them for women and left us dudes out for a while. Well, I just discovered an amazing store in NYC called Moo Shoes. They have tons of vegan shoes for men, from dress to sporty to fashion… pretty much whatever you’re looking for.

Plus, the store has a great NYC vibe. Alicia, Bear, and I went there while we were in New York this winter and I tried on all kinds of shoes and listened to loud hip hop while Bear and Alicia had a dance party/tried to destroy the place. It’s in the Lower East Side so if you’re in NYC, you should definitely check it out.

I ended up getting some great dress shoes there from a maker called Brave Gentleman (black and brown below - they also make amazing suits that you can order through their online shop). I also got two great belts called “Town Belt”—one black and one brown—made by Vegetarian Shoes. They’re simple and cool. And some sneakers made my Novacas (the grey ones below).

 

And I am not really a shoe guy - I usually buy a pair of Converse and some flip-flops every few years – but we are going back to New York for a couple weeks in May and I cant wait to go back and see what new stuff they have.

* * * * *

 

By the way, they sell a ton of stuff online so if you’re interested in grabbing some shoes or belts for yourself (or the guy in your life) you can order them here.

Where is your favorite place (online or storefront) to buy vegan shoes or clothes?