Alicia Silverstone's Blog, page 144

kind your beauty routine in 2012 with naturally fresh deodorant

With the start of the New Year it's an ideal time to move toward a healthier lifestyle for you and your family. Unfortunately our well-intentioned resolutions often don't make it past February. Set yourself up for success by identifying small habits that will get you closer to your goal.

Protecting your pits with natural deodorant is an easy way you can go green & healthy in 2012. Regular antiperspirants prevent your body's normal sweating function by blocking glands with aluminum molecules so small they can enter the blood stream. Though highly debated it has been suggested that this might put you more at risk for breast cancer and Alzheimer's disease. Why be at risk when you could be kind to your body? 
 
The secret is out. Smelling good shouldn't come with warning labels. That's why Alicia named Naturally Fresh Deodorant Crystal Roll-on her favorite natural deodorant back in March 2010. Even doctors recommend it! Check out this video from Dr. Melanie K. Bone a breast cancer survivor and gynecological surgeon on why going natural in your underarms is great.

Naturally Fresh Deodorant Crystal's roll-on is conveniently available at Walmart for only 3.99 and offers non-stop freshness while allowing skin to breathe. Natural mineral salts provide a non-staining non-greasy layer of protection that kills odor-causing bacteria so you can stay dry and still smell terrific. The added soothing chamomile helps to calm skin from frequent shaving irritation.

Don't take our word for it! Try a free sample for yourself!

Simply comment below on why you'd like to be kind to your underarms Like our Facebook page and submit a free sample request first one hundred fans; one sample per household. By submitting a request you will automatically be entered to win DEODORANT FOR A YEAR! On our Facebook page you'll also find great deals giveaways and articles on maintaining an organic lifestyle.

And as always beauty should not be cruel. Because we directly manufacture on the same site of our South Florida corporate headquarters we can guarantee no animals have ever been tested with our products. Our products are certified by both PETA and Leaping Bunny as cruelty-free.

Here's to being kind and smelling great in the New Year!

Today's post is proudly sponsored by

kind classics: new years hangover tea

New Year's Day can be less of a holiday and more of a hangover day for a lot of people. So in honor of NYE recovery day I'm sharing my Cure All Tea recipe from my book p. 290.

Cure All Tea

Ingredients

1 kukicha tea bag if you're using loose-leaf tea follow the package instructions
1/4-1/2 umeboshi plum pit removed and chopped very fine
3-5 drops shoyu

Steps

Steep the tea in 1 cup of boiling water
While the tea steeps place the umeboshi plum into a teacup with the shoyu
Pour the hot tea over the umeboshi plum in the teacup and stir well
Drink hot
The umeboshi pit is also good to suck on if you want

Also remember when you have a hangover you might think you want a bunch of heavy junk the next day - but the cleaner you eat the better you will feel quickly. Green juice brown rice or steamed greens like kale are great hangover foods. But in my ancient party days I noticed a huge difference between a veggie burger and fries and cakes versus the clean food.

What are your favorite hangover cures?

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My Thoughts About Celebrating The New Year

kind classics: m cafs vegan benedict recipe!

This recipe would make a great addition to your New Year's Day brunch. Enjoy!

Photo by Quarry Girl

A little while ago I blogged about how delicious M Café's vegan benedict is. I had asked them to make it then begged them to put it on their menu – and they did! When I posted about this dish earlier people asked if M Café would share the recipe and they were nice enough to offer it so you Kind Lifers can make it at home. It's a little involved but sooo worth it! Thanks M Café!

I ate this almost every single week while pregnant. Before that I just had it once in a while. But pregnancy turned it into a weekly affair!

M Café's  Vegan Benedict

For 4 people

Ingredients

8 slices whole-grain sourdough bread we use a French-style baguette
16 slices Tempeh Bacon recipe follows
1/2 bunch green kale blanched
1 recipe Scrambled Tofu recipe follows
12 thin slices of ripe tomato
1.5 cups Soy Hollandaise recipe follows
Soy margarine melted for brushing
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
Fresh chives minced for garnish

Steps

Toast bread slices and brush tops liberally with melted soy margarine
Place two slices side-by-side on each of four warm breakfast plates
Lay four slices of tempeh bread over the toasted bread
Divide the kale evenly into four portions and place each portion on top of the tempeh and bread making a "bed" for the scrambled tofu
Spoon the scrambled tofu evenly on top of each Benedict
Lay three overlapping slices of tomato on top of the scrambled tofu 
Season the tomato slices with sea salt and black pepper if desired
Spoon the soy hollaindaise sauce liberally over each Benedict
Garnish each plate with minced chives and serve immediately!

Tempeh Bacon

Ingredients

2 packs soy tempeh cut lengthwise into ¼ inch slices
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup apple juice
3 tablespoons dark maple syrup
½ tsp natural liquid smoke optional
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
oil for pan-frying

Steps

Place tempeh slices in shallow dish
Combine all remaining ingredients except oil and pour over tempeh. Let  marinate for at least 30 minutes before proceeding can be done overnight
Remove tempeh slices from marinade and pat dry with paper towels
Heat oil in skillet and pan-fry tempeh until brown and crisp on both sides
Keep warm until ready to use

Scrambled Tofu

Ingredients

¼ cup soy margarine
1 cup onion minced
½ cup carrot shredded
1 lb super-firm tofu such as Wildwood brand crumbled
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp sea salt or to taste
½ tsp black pepper or to taste
¼ cup water
2 T green onions sliced thin

Steps

Heat soy margarine in skillet over medium heat until melted
Add onion and sauté for 1 minute
Add carrot and sauté for another minute
Add crumbled tofu turmeric salt and pepper and sauté for another minute
Raise heat to high add water bring to boil and cook until liquid is absorbed
Add sliced green onion and stir to incorporate and adjust seasoning if desired
Keep warm until ready to use

Soy Hollaindaise

Makes approximately 3.5 Cups

Ingredients

1 12 oz package silken tofu drained
8 oz soy margarine
1 cup Vegenaise
¼ cup lemon juice
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp sea salt
¼ tsp white pepper
1 T agar powder not flakes
½ tsp hot sauce optional

Steps

Melt soy margarine
Puree tofu Vegenaise lemon juice turmeric sea salt white pepper and agar powder in blender
With blender running drizzle in the melted soy margarine until mixture is emulsified Keep warm until ready to use. Sauce will keep in refrigerator for a week - reheat very gently over a double-boiler

If you live in LA you can also get this tasty treat at M Café. What's your favorite vegan breakfast?

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kind classics: my thoughts about celebrating the new year

This is an updated version of a blog I posted a few years ago about ideas for celebrating the New Year as well as reflecting on the previous year and your goals for the next. I highly recommend journaling on or around New Year's Eve to look back on the year and get perspective on your goals for 2012. I've shared a few other ideas for having a fun eco & safe New Year's below too!

For the past few years Christopher and I have been keeping special New Year's journals. We sit down on New Year's Eve and write down everything that happened that year... the highlights highs and lows accomplishments things we were proud of meaningful events or maybe things that were sad. Next we write about what we want 2012 to be like. Then the next year when we go and look back at what we wrote it's really cool to see if those things ended up happening... a great way to start the new year.

Here are some of our resolutions and other New Year's thoughts:

Eat Right

This is an on-going one but eat right!!! Do what you can to get whole foods and fresh veggies greens and plant based proteins into your diet.  Get your hands on The Kind Diet and go nuts! Make the Mixed Berry Cheesecake or the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups and have a party!

Get Rid of Old Stuff

It is a perfect time to go through all of your old stuff and recycle/give away all the things that you have been meaning to get rid of. This will make you feel so much lighter and happier! Go through things like your medicine cabinet and kitchen cleaning supplies. Give them away and replace them with more eco friendly choices. Go through your closet and sell your clothes to your local recycled clothing store or give them to Goodwill.

Get Out Of Debt

Another great thing to do on New Year's is to get out of debt! Start saving money if you haven't already... it's never too late to start doing this! And doing things like washing your clothes in cold water turning off lights and unplugging things you don't need plugged in can make a difference in your monthly bills... ok not an insane difference but every little bit counts right?! Remember 50 of your electricity bill is just plugged in stuff that sits there! You can sell your old TVs or other things on Craigslist and make a few bucks!

Go Outside

Get out there and be active! Enjoy a day in the sun or rain! on a nice walk or bike ride. Find a local hike near your home.  Hang out in your own yard or courtyard area! Make a little area in your yard that can be special just for you or you and friends. Use pillows blankets yoga mats whatever you've got.

If you take a little vacation for a New Year's celebration remember that most travel companies and forms of transportation now offer carbon offset programs for your trips. Make sure to ask about them.

About New Year's Eve

Choose Organic

Go for organic wine beer and spirits when you can – I love Merchant Du Vin for great organic beer! Organic is better for you better for the people who grow the ingredients and produce it and better for the planet. When you drink organic wine you are keeping up to 250 chemicals that are used to produce non-organic wine out of your life and out of your body! Organic wines also mean the possibility of little to no hangover... fewer chemicals and fewer sulfites mean a better feeling head the next day. Localharvest.org  is a great site to find organic vineyards and breweries in your area.

Bottom line is that with organic wines anytime you can find wine made with organic grapes wines that use 100 organic ingredients biodynamic wines... go for it! They are a big eco step-up from conventional wines. Trader Joe's has a good one called Our Daily Red.

Don't Drink and Drive

Another note... Make sure that you don't drink and drive! There are now green taxi services so you can help the planet and also ensure that you get to and from your destination safe and sound. Just Google "green taxi service" and find one in your area. If you can't find a green taxi a regular one will work just fine too!

Cure That Hangover

Don't forget... if you are feeling the consequences of a fun New Year's Eve the Cure All Tea from my book p. 290 works wonders on a hangover!

Have a warm kind fun filled New Year's!

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New Year's Hangover Tea

happy almost new year!

The year 2011 was a big one for The Kind Life and for kind causes around the world. Here are some highlights that happened on the site this past year:

The Kind Book Club began
Guest bloggers Lea Michele Ed Begley Jr. Dr. Joel Fuhrman and many more contributed blogs to The Kind Life

We had our first ever live chat…and there will be more to come!
My Open Sky store opened offering huge discounts on my fave kind products
The Kind Life celebrated its two-year anniversary!

…and some highlights from the news in 2011:

Oprah hosted her first vegan episode and vegan week
Vegan documentary Forks Over Knives was released in theaters
Farm Sanctuary hosted its first National Conference to End Factory Farming
A 600-year old dog meat festival was canceled in eastern China
CNN aired a special about heart health and Bill Clinton's vegan diet

And personally this was a huge year for me … because I became a mommy! I can't wait to see what 2012 holds. What are you looking forward to most in the new year?

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vote for your kind faves for 2011!

This year I'm compiling the best of The Kind Life for 2011 and I need your help! I'd like to hear from you what your top three favorite blogs were this year in the following categories:
 
·      Food
·      Health
·      House
·      Style
·      Environment
·      Recipes
 
To choose your three favorite blogs for each category click on each category above and browse the blogs within each one. Then choose the three you like best for each category. If there are any blogs within other categories that you loved I'm all ears! I can't wait to get your feedback and post our "Best of The Kind Life" for 2011.
 
Tell me what your top three favorite blogs in each category were in the comments below!

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8 days of recipes: chocolate & cinnamon rugelach

This pistachio-chocolate-cinnamon rugelach from The Discerning Brute looks like a yummy treat to serve with breakfast or on your holiday dessert table.

Ingredients

2 cups organic unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup organic whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 cups organic cane sugar
1/4 cup prepared egg-replacer
4 tbsp vegan shortening do not melt
6 tbsp tofu-cream cheese
1 package of active dry yeast dissolved in 1/4 cup warm soy creamer
1/4 cup cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped organic walnuts
1/2 cup chopped organic pistachios
1 bag of vegan chocolate chips
4 tbsp earth balance vegan spread
1 tbsp vanilla
pinch of salt                                                 

Instructions

Dissolve the envelope of dry active yeast in 1/4 cup of warmed soy creamer vanilla or plain and let it sit until it becomes frothy at top.
Meanwhile using a mixer or a fork cream together the coconut oil 1 cup of the sugar the egg-replacer mixture chilled shortening 4 tbsp of the tofu cream cheese salt and the vanilla.
Add the frothy yeast & creamer and combine.
Slowly begin to add the combined flours whole wheat and all purpose until the dough balls up in the mixer or it has the texture of tough play-dough against the fork should be about 2 cups. Set the remaining flour aside for dusting.
Once your dough is in a ball cover with a damp cloth and set in a warm place to rise for 40 minutes then move into the fridge to cool for at least 2-3 hours or overnight.
Once the dough has risen and then cooled separate it into 4 equal parts.
On a generously flour sugar and cinnamon-dusted surface I used wax paper sheets on my dining table roll out 1 of the 4 dough parts into a circle the size of a small pizza. It should be about 1/4 inch thick.
Over medium heat in a small saucepan melt the Earth Balance then add 1 cup of sugar and 4 tbsp of cinnamon and 2 tbsp of tofu cream cheese. Stir until smooth
Evenly spread 1/4 of this cinnamon mixture onto the rolled-out dough.
Sprinkle 1/4 of the pistachio & chopped walnuts and a handful of vegan dark chocolate chips and lightly press into the dough.
Cut pizza-style into 16 equal pieces with a butcher knife.
Roll into small crescent-roll shapes.
Place on a greased baking sheet and bake at 350 for about 15 – 20 minutes or until golden. Sprinkle some of the chopped nuts and extra cinnamon & sugar on top if desired.
Repeat steps 7 & 9-13 with the remaining 3 parts of dough.

What's your favorite holiday breakfast food?

Photo Credit: The Discerning Brute

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success stories: paloma brings the kind to argentina

Kind Lifer Paloma recently shared how she's adopted a kind diet in her home city of Buenos Aires. Check it out:
 
"Last year I discovered your site and started to know a little bit of the vegan lifestyle but this is something not very common here in my country. There are some people who are vegetarian and a few vegans but that's it. In October 2010 my parents traveled to New York and I specifically asked them to bring me a copy of your book. I wanted to know what this kind life was all about. The day they gave it to me I read it cover to cover in one evening. It was so compelling! I flirted with veganism for a whole year. It was very difficult given the fact that some products are very hard to find my crazy routine and especially the fact that I am a sugar junkie!!! However a month ago I was diagnosed with insulin resistance pretty much pre-diabetes. So I felt like this was the moment to fully commit to myself to my body and health and especially to the planet! So I started a 100 superhero diet three days ago. I've never felt so good! I have mind clarity and am able to concentrate like I couldn't in months. My skin is starting to look better than ever. I really really hope to be able to lose some weight given that I'm following the superhero plan so will be trying to do some exercise four or five days a week. I've been feeling the symptoms of letting sugar go but I know it will go away in a couple days and that it is for the best. So thank you so much for inspiring me in this new trip! I hope to be writing to you soon to tell you everything's even better!"
 
Yay I love this so much…so so happy to hear this! A dear woman I know named Susana Lombardi founded an amazing place called We Care. She is vegan and also from Argentina. She jokes that she used to eat so much meat that in her country where they eat tons of meat she was known as a "the meat eater" because she ate even more than everyone else. And then she changed completely! Anywho I love that little story and I love that you are doing this Paloma! Keep us updated on your progress and be sure to check out the kind forum for encouragement and support!
 
If any of you kind lifers have a success story to share private message me or upload your story to your profile and "like" it. I may feature you on the homepage of The Kind Life!

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8 days of recipes: cherry noodle kugel

I love fresh apricots! This looks good...and as with knishes I'm not sure I've ever had kugel. Again how is this possible?!

Ingredients

For pudding

1 cup soymilk
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
8 ounces fettuccini broken in half
3 12.3-ounce packages silken tofu not lite
1/4 cup vegan cream cheese
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons vegan margarine
1 tablespoon egg replacer
1 tablespoon vanilla

For topping

1 16-ounce can unsweetened pie cherries
1 cup sliced dried apricots
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon cold water

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl add lemon juice to soymilk and set aside. Cook noodles according to package directions. Rinse thoroughly with cold water and set aside rinsing from time to time until ready to assemble.
In food processor place tofu and blend until smooth. Add cream cheese and sugar and process.
Add remaining pudding ingredients and blend until smooth.
Pour tofu mixture into 9 x 13-inch glass baking pan add cooked noodles and mix thoroughly.
Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat place cherries and apricots.
Add sugar and almond extract and bring to a low boil stirring occasionally.
In a small bowl blend cornstarch with water and add to cherry mixture.
Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
Uncover pudding and spread topping evenly over it.
Return to oven and bake uncovered for an additional 15 minutes.
Serve warm or cold. Cover and refrigerate leftovers.

What traditional dishes have you successfully veganized?

Photo Credit: VegNews

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easy and kind new years resolutions from ethical ocean

Tired of resolutions that don't stick? Us too. So this year we sought advice from Meghan Telpner nutritionista extraordinaire owner of The Love in the Kitchen Academy and all around great gal who says things like "superfantabulous."

If there's one girl who knows how to set goals and stick to them it's Meghan. Seriously. This is a woman who was diagnosed with Crohn's disease five years ago a condition docs told her was incurable and surgery and meds her only options. Not one to play by the rules she reclaimed her health with yoga meditation acupuncture herbal remedies and healthy eating. Five years later Meghan remains symptom free.

So who better to set us in the right direction for 2012 right? And she's making it easier than ever to keep whole natural local and most importantly delicious vegan food on the menu with these items from her kitchen:
 

Irish Moss:  This superfood gives a creamy texture to smoothies and puddings and is an excellent source of sulphur compounds protein iodine calcium iron magnesium selenium zinc pectin vitamins B and C. It eases digestive discomfort something I think we can all appreciate this time of year.
Milk It Kit: Sure sounds a bit funny but this kit makes it easy to make your own nut and seed milks right at home. 
Power Packs: Meghan's put together a few power packs to make starting 2012 on the right foot easy. Try her Smoothie Kit Raw Living Deluxe Kit or the Stress Buster – all of which are chock-full of great stuff.

So start 2012 off right.

Until January 1 use the coupon code Resolution on any of Meghan's finds on Ethical Ocean to save 10!

Let Meghan help you reach your goals and conquer your resolutions while still staying kind.

Cheers to a superfantabulous year!

Today's post is proudly sponsored by