Alicia Silverstone's Blog, page 111

Spring Greening Giveaway!

 
 

Once we’re done hibernating from winter a lot of us may feel like doing some spring-cleaning. While you’re getting rid of all the extra stuff you don’t need (and donating it to a local shelter, thrift store, or giving it away on a site like freecycle.org), it’s a great time to do some “spring greening.” Meaning, think about some of the things in your home that might be wasteful or not as eco and healthy as they could be, and replacing them with some more eco options.

Here are some tips:

Get a good supply of reusable towels and napkins for your kitchen to use instead of paper towels (paper towels produce more than 3,000 tons of waste in landfills every single day).

Please don’t buy plastic water bottles! Instead get a few reusable ones that you can keep in the fridge and take them with you on your way out the door or leave at your desk and refill them throughout the day. By the way, the EPA’s standards for tap water are actually more stringent than the FDA’s standards for bottled water.

Plastic bags are nasty. If you don’t already have some, invest in a few reusable bags to tote home your groceries and anything else you have to shop for. Even better if you can find some that are made of recycled material!

Plant a garden. It’s great for far superior-tasting food that is less expensive and it creates more clean air!

 
And now...

Our Giveaway!

To help one of our Kind Lifers green their home this spring, I’m giving away all these eco goodies:

1. Full Circle Home Composter: Composting is super-easy to do at home, especially with a compact composter like this one. It's small enough to fit in your kitchen and seals in odors, so your kitchen won't stink! I made a little video a while back to show you how easy composting can be.

2. Easy Clean Square Water Bottle & Smoothie Mixer by Clean Bottle: This bottle is made of BPA-free plastic and quality stainless steel that is the highest food grade stainless steel available. Plus, the bottle unscrews from both ends for super easy cleaning!

3. Urban Garden by Grow Vertical: These planters are great if you live in a city. They take up very little space because you're planting vertically. (BONUS; the planters are made from recycled plastic bottles!)

4. Weleda All Natural Salt Toothpaste: Weleda toothpaste is super-duper healthy, superhero approved! It’s formulated with sea salt to fight plaque and keep your pearlies extra white and the other natural ingredients stimulate your gums, purify, and disinfect.

5. The LaundryPOD: If you want to wash just a few pieces or clean “hand wash” delicates, the LaundryPOD is great! You can do a load of about 18 pieces with zero electricity and just 3 gallons of water with these cool laundry pods (compared to 24 gallons of water in an eco-friendly machine).

TO ENTER:

1. Follow me on twitter @AliciaSilv

2.  Leave a comment below and tell me one way that you plan to “green” your home this spring. 

You’ll be entered a second time if you share this post on Twitter with the hashtag #springgreening!

 

• You must be a registered thekindlife.com member to enter. Learn how to sign up by clicking here.
• This contest is open to residents of the USA only.
• Winners will ONLY be contacted via private message to their thekindlife.com inbox and by email. If our team does not hear back within 24 hours, a new winner will be selected in your place.
• Limit one comment per entry. Multiple comment entries will not be considered. One additional Twitter entry per day will be counted.
• This giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. PST on March 11, 2013.

Tia Mowry’s Ginger Acorn Squash Soup

When Tia Mowry told me she was a fan of The Kind Diet—so much that she takes the book grocery shopping with her—I was so thrilled! As a new vegan who loves to cook and is trying all kinds of new plant-based recipes, she offered to share this yum-looking soup recipe:

* * * * *
Vegan Ginger Acorn Squash Soup
By:Tia Mowry

Hey guys! I am so excited to be guest blogging on The Kind Life – my husband Cory and I just went vegan in the beginning of the year, and Alicia’s book has been a saving grace. The recipes in it are sooo amazing, and I always make sure to bring it with me when I go grocery shopping.  I was BEYOND thrilled and honored when Alicia asked if I wanted to share one of my own recipes on the site, and (after a long deliberation) I finally decided on a recipe for my ginger acorn squash soup.  It’s a deliciously cozy comfort food, but still light enough to enjoy on a warm spring day.  I love how the ginger gives it that extra flavor kick!

Tia Mowry’s Ginger Acorn Squash Soup
Serves 2-3

Ingredients:
1-2 tsps of coconut oil
1 organic raw acorn squash chopped
2 carrots chopped
2 onions chopped
2 celery sticks chopped
3 garlic cloves minced
3-4 inches grated ginger root
About 3 cups Vegetable broth (enough to cover the vegetables in the pot)
Parsley as a garnish
 

Instructions:
1. Sauté carrots, onions, celery, and garlic in coconut oil
2. After a couple of minutes, add squash and ginger
3. Pour in vegetable broth
4. Simmer for 30 min
5. Purée or use Vitamix for 5 minutes until desired creaminess
6. Add sea salt and simmer at least 10 more minutes if you want
7. Garnish with parsley, and serve

   

This soup is perfect for the whole family – my one-year-old son Cree loves it too! As a new vegan, I love experimenting with ingredients and I’ve found that soup is one of the easiest, yummiest things to make with all the veggies in my fridge.  My creamy cauliflower dill soup and green juice are both go-to’s when I want something delicious and nutritious too!

Let me know if any of you guys decide to try this!

Do you have any recipe suggestions for me?

What are your favorite must-try recipes to share with new vegans?

* * * * *

Thanks for sharing, Tia! I’m so happy you are loving being vegan and your man is in on it as well. Thank you so much for your passion and enthusiasm, I truly appreciate it and I’m so happy you are here!!! Plus, this looks delicious.

Eco Ideas for Updating Your Wardrobe

 
 


 

Whether you follow fashion trends or not, spring is a time when a lot of us find the need to shop for some new clothes. When I shop, my first stop is always a second hand store. In LA, I really like Wasteland and Crossroads Trading Company. If I can’t find what I need at a second hand store, my next choice is finding the most eco company I can that makes what I need. Check out the Kind Style section for some of my favorite eco-friendly brands and be sure to post any style recommendations or questions in the style section of the forum.

How I Shop For Bear

When I was pregnant, my girlfriends shared with me their old maternity clothes, and gave me hand-me-down clothes for Bear. For my baby shower I asked people to bring stuff their kids had grown out of instead of buying new stuff. Two friends who have boys gave me most of the clothes Bear wears. As he has grown, I’ve passed these clothes along and it feels really great. I remember having tons of hand-me-downs when I was little too. Yay, mom!

You can also try making kid's clothes with this super simple guide to making eco-fashion for kids.

A Cool Idea: Host a Clothing Swap Party

A great idea is to ask around and see if your friends are interested in getting together for a clothing swap party. The way it works is everyone brings all the clothes they no longer need –clothes they would have donated or given away. Set up all the clothes in your living room, and start “shopping.” Try things on, take pictures, have fun! You can draw numbers and take turns or just make it a free for all. Serve kind snacks, or make it a potluck.

I know of someone who does this with her girlfriends every year on Super Bowl Sunday – she calls it Lady Bowl. Sounds so fun!

What are your eco-shopping tips?

Share in the comments below.

Eco Ideas for Updating Your Wardrobe

 
 


 

Whether you follow fashion trends or not, spring is a time when a lot of us find the need to shop for some new clothes. When I shop, my first stop is always a second hand store. In LA, I really like Wasteland and Crossroads Trading Company. If I can’t find what I need at a second hand store, my next choice is finding the most eco company I can that makes what I need. Check out the Kind Style section for some of my favorite eco-friendly brands and be sure to post any style recommendations or questions in the style section of the forum.

How I Shop For Bear

When I was pregnant, my girlfriends shared with me their old maternity clothes, and gave me hand-me-down clothes for Bear. For my baby shower I asked people to bring stuff their kids had grown out of instead of buying new stuff. Two friends who have boys gave me most of the clothes Bear wears. As he has grown, I’ve passed these clothes along and it feels really great. I remember having tons of hand-me-downs when I was little too. Yay, mom!

You can also try making kid's clothes with this super simple guide to making eco-fashion for kids.

A Cool Idea: Host a Clothing Swap Party

A great idea is to ask around and see if your friends are interested in getting together for a clothing swap party. The way it works is everyone brings all the clothes they no longer need –clothes they would have donated or given away. Set up all the clothes in your living room, and start “shopping.” Try things on, take pictures, have fun! You can draw numbers and take turns or just make it a free for all. Serve kind snacks, or make it a potluck.

I know of someone who does this with her girlfriends every year on Super Bowl Sunday – she calls it Lady Bowl. Sounds so fun!

What are your eco-shopping tips?

Share in the comments below.

Avocado and Chickpea Quinoa Salad

 

Kind Lifer Amelie shared this good-looking salad in the recipe gallery. It looks really fresh!

Ingredients

1/2 cup dry quinoa
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups spinach
1 cup cilantro
1/4 cup onion
2 teaspoons garlic
2 cups chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 avocados, chopped
1 lemon, zested
2 lemons, juiced
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon agave nectar
1/2 teaspoon cumin

Directions

1.  Start by making the quinoa: soak the quinoa in a pot in the vegetable broth for about 15 minutes. Turn the heat on to medium-high and let the quinoa come to a boil. Once it boils, reduce the heat to medium-low and let the quinoa simmer. Stir every so often and cook quinoa about 20-25 minutes, just until the liquid is absorbed – don’t let it dry out completely, though; when there is just a tiny amount of liquid left in the pot, remove it from the heat and cover. Set aside to cool.

2.  Meanwhile, put the spinach and cilantro in a food processor. Process until the greens are finely diced. (You can do this by hand if you don’t have a food processor.) Put the greens in the serving bowl and set aside.

3.  As long as the food processor is out and dirtied, use it to chop the onion and garlic, then add to the greens mixture. Add the chickpeas to the serving bowl and mix well. When your quinoa has cooled, add it to the bowl as well, along with the tomatoes.

4.  Make the dressing by whisking all the remaining ingredients together, adding salt and pepper to taste. Pour over salad and mix until combined. You can set the salad aside for 10-15 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. Serve and top with avocado.

She also shared it on her blog lactosefreegirl.com.

How do you like to eat quinoa?

A salad? A side dish? What’s your favorite quinoa dish ever?

Tell me in the comments below or post your own recipe to your profile and submit it to the recipe gallery!

How to Make Vegan Baklava

I came across this yum-looking recipe for vegan baklava on PETA’s website. The main ingredient in traditional baklava is honey, but this version subs agave nectar in what looks to be a delicious take on the traditional Mediterranean dessert for a delicious dessert and treat:

Vegan Baklava

Ingredients

2 cups agave nectar (or try Suzanne’s Just Like Honey)
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. grated orange rind
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 pkg. phyllo dough
1 cup vegan margarine, melted
2 cups toasted, finely chopped pistachios

Instructions

Get the full instructions at peta.org.

 

What is your favorite Mediterranean recipe? Do you have your own (maybe even better) baklava recipe?!

Tell me in the comments below, and be sure to upload recipes to your profile so I can feature them in the kind recipe gallery. 

Photo source: flickr.com / Wonderyort

5 Great Vegan Recipe Apps

 

 

 

Apple approved its 1 millionth app last year, and among all those apps are some great vegan options. Here are five vegan apps to check out:

Babycakes $3.99

 

The app features Mad Men’s Kiernan Shipka, Mark Bittman from The New York Times, Christina Tosi from Momofuku/Milk Bar, Brooks Headley from Del Posto, and food writer David Leibovitz. On top of that, the Babycakes app features an awesome theme song by J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr and tunes by Cults, Bleached, and Bubbles. It includes video recipes, techniques, and tips for donuts, cookies, cupcakes, pies, pretzels, sandwich bread, teacakes, and other goodies. Get the Babycakes app.

 

21-Day Kickstart FREE

This is a great app from PCRM for anyone who is new to a vegan diet. It gives you 21 days of recipes, making it super easy to plan your plant-based meals. Get the 21-Day Kickstart app.

 

Dr. McDougall Mobile Cookbook $4.99

You may know Dr. McDougall from the movie Forks Over Knives. His mobile cookbook app is a great recipe resource for low-fat, whole-grain based vegan recipes. Get Dr. McDougall’s Mobile Cookbook app.

 

Vegan Yum Yum FREE

This recipe app lets you search, view and organize all your favorite recipes from blogger Lolo’s award-winning recipe site. I posted her recipe for Rustic Bread and Eggplant Lasagna a bit ago. Enjoy! Get the Vegan Yum Yum app.

 

Animal Free FREE

This app provides a comprehensive list of ingredients that are vegan, and those that are derived from animal products. It’s incredibly handy for deciphering obscure ingredients on food labels. Get the Animal-Free app.

 

What are your favorite vegan recipe apps?

Tell me in the comments below so I can give them a try!

Photo source: Flickr.com / _-0-_

Celebrating a Kind Spring Wedding

Kind Lifer Katie has shared about kind weddings for fall , winter , and now she brings us a beautiful post about spring weddings. - AS

 

Celebrating a Kind Spring Wedding
by Katie Gillespie

Spring is a very popular season for weddings and for good reason. Spring is all about new beginnings. The end of winter is marked by new green buds on plants and by bulbs peaking up through the soil. Many animals have their babies in the spring. In parts of the world with dramatic winters, spring brings with it much needed color, warmth and new life. The fact that spring is about new life and new beginnings makes it the perfect season for a wedding – marriage can, of course, be an exciting new chapter of life.

Many of the DIY and eco-friendly suggestions I made for planning an autumn and winter wedding can be applied to a spring wedding. In this post, I’m suggesting a celebration filled with bright, joyful colors. Spring can be a great season to try out a more off-beat wedding dress. Consider replacing the white wedding dress idea with a dress made from a fun, colorful print or a shorter, colorful dress that is all about fun. Whether it’s vintage or handmade using vintage or eco fabrics, a 1950s-style dress with a shorter length full skirt is what I think of for spring and this style looks great on most any body type, especially those with some extra curves.  

MissBrache cotton wedding dress; Sohomode vintage-inspired tea dresses; Sohomode flower girl dresses

In the height of the season, spring flowers are blooming everywhere and you might plan to incorporate the natural beauty of the season into your wedding without using cut flowers. For location, find a park filled with cherry trees in bloom for the ceremony. Or a field of spring-blooming wildflowers. For centerpieces, consider going with potted bulbs in bloom (tulips, crocus, daffodils, etc.), which can be taken home after the wedding and planted so that they bloom year after year. Summer-blooming bulbs make a great idea for favors.

Table décor/centerpiece from Crinoline & Tweed; bulbs planted in vintage watering can from Pinterest; Bulb wedding favors from Plant-a-Memory; cherry tree in bloom by Serenity in the Storm.

There are some delicious in-season produce options for a meal, including asparagus, new potatoes, morel mushrooms, radishes, peas and pea greens, lettuces, spinach, arugula and more. A risotto with morel mushrooms and asparagus would be heavenly, alongside a spring salad of greens, radishes and snap peas. For dessert, cherries, strawberries and rhubarb are in season in spring. In keeping with the off-beat and colorful theme, strawberry rhubarb pie or veganized strawberry shortcakes would be a beautiful alternative to a traditional wedding cake. 

Thank you, Katie! Such great ideas. Thank you for your inspiration and passion.

If your married, in which season did you get married?

If your not (and you’d like to), which season do you think you would pick?

About Katie: Katie Gillespie is a PhD student in Geography, working on a dissertation that looks at the lives of individual cows in the U.S. dairy industry. In her free time, she writes the Seattle-based blog Serenity in the Storm, which features vegan news, recipes, fashion and animal advocacy-related topics, she is a contributor at Our Hen House and MindBodyGreen. Friend Katie

Kitties Love Their Canine Friends

So cute!

Are Vaccines Safe for Babies and Pregnant Women?

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I know many of you have asked in the forum about whether vaccines are okay for our children, and there’s a lot of conflicting information out there about what age children should be when they receive specific vaccines, as well as whether kids should receive vaccines at all. Researchers have been debating a correlation between vaccines and autism for some time, and this study provides new evidence that vaccines given to pregnant women could be correlated with autism.

Dr. Jay Gordon, a UCLA pediatrician and author of numerous books, has a very  thorough presentation you can get for $8.99. I wish it were free (although it’s not expensive and it’s an excellent use of your money) because I want the world to watch it, but what I can tell you is, it’s an excellent resource to turn to, because it explains each vaccine typically recommended for children and discusses all of the questions you may have.

Dr. Jay Gordon’s Take on Vaccines

Here’s a statement from Dr. Jay Gordon on vaccines. This info is meant to answer your questions in detail. He goes through each vaccine and really explains all about each one. I’m excited he’s sharing his expertise with all of us kind lifers, and I encourage you to check out Dr. Jay Gordon’s webinar on vaccines if you want more info:

“First, vaccines are a really personal issue and one of my biggest problems is that 99% of pediatricians don't feel that parents should even participate in the decision about how or when, let alone if a baby should get all, some or none of the shots at any given office visit. The whole process is inherently flawed because we give immunizations pretending to know a lot more about the immune system than we really know.  

We also have combined six different vaccines with more than 20 separate antigens to be given at the two-, four-, and six-month check ups. The science behind these combinations is lacking and the challenge 'You can't prove it's dangerous to give these shots at the same time,' completely reverses the real obligation of the manufacturers and vaccine researchers to prove that the vaccines and combinations are safe."

Jay N. Gordon, MD, FAAP
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, UCLA Medical School
Former Senior Fellow in Pediatric Nutrition, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Institute

What questions do you have about vaccines?
Let’s discuss in the comments below.

Photo: Yanivba via  Flickr